The Will Of The Free
by Lightning-Tenshi-29
Summary: Kagome is sent to New York to investigate increasing demon attacks. Steve walks in on her killing a hoard of demons, and from there she becomes wrapped up in the world of The Avengers. [Steve x Kagome] BEING REWRITTEN 0/30 complete.
1. Chapter 1

The Will Of The Free

 **A/N: So hopefully by the time this first chapter is uploaded I'll have prewritten all of it. I know Inuyasha fanfiction is dying out, the anime IS pretty old but with Black Panther and Infinity War not that far away, I thought I'd start writing as soon as possible!**

 **Pairing: Steve x Kagome**

Kagome cursed under her breath, backed up against the wall in a dark alleyway. She had been sent by Sesshomaru to Brooklyn, New York, to find and eliminate a group of rogue demons. Over the past two years, attacks in America had become more prominent, and it was becoming a problem.

The creatures before her were animalistic in nature, large beasts the colour of the night, with fur on their bodies, looking like panthers until the tail. Their tail was scaly and ended with a large spike.

She took in a deep breath, feeling their auras around her. Fifteen or so demons standing in a circle around her, all snarling deeply. She had no clue who was controlling them, or what had provoked them, though it was obvious _something_ had caused the sudden spike in demon attacks. All she knew was that she was in New York, and that she was surrounded.

X

As usual, Steve was jogging. He could rarely sleep these days, and the serum had reduced the need for rest. He enjoyed being able to go out at night and take in the _new_ Brooklyn. The cold air hit his skin as he made his way down one of the many back alleys in Brooklyn. A choir of snarls coming from an alleyway he just passed broke his concentration. Curious, he spun on his heel, walking slowly towards the alleyway.

He heard a soft curse, and sped up his pace, jogging slightly faster to the alleyway.

X

"I don't want to hurt you," She said, almost pleading with the creatures not to have to hurt them.

Faster, he increased his pace.

They snarled louder, circling in on her, drawn to the power source placed at the base of her neck.

"But you want to hurt me, don't you?" She sighed, glancing quickly down at the jewel the demons were fixated on.

Steve stopped at the entrance to the alleyway, seeing a short girl huddled against the wall, and fifteen or so strange looking animals around her. The appearance of the animals was eerie, slightly reminding him of the chitauri he fought just half a year ago.

"Ma'am?" He called out to the woman.

"Crap," Kagome clenched her fists. She _hated_ when civilians got involved. Taking a deep breath, she decided to eliminate the demons and deal with the man later.

Focusing on their green, ugly auras, her palms lit up with a pink light. Initially, she was surprised by the warmth of the man's aura, though she pushed past it and focused on the demons surrounding her.

She pushed her miko ki outwards, and into the physical world. The demons hissed, feeling a burning heat surrounding their bodies. Within seconds, their forms were gone and their auras had vanished.

X

Steve watched as she cursed at him under her breath. She looked away from him, an intense look of concentration on her face. Suddenly, her palms lit up bright pink, the light getting brighter and filling the alleyway. Steve put his hand over his face to shield his eyes, and when the light had died down he opened them again.

"Who- What are you?" He had only seen abilities like hers in Scarlett Witch and Vision, and this girl definitely didn't look like either of them.

The girl looked back up at him, shocked he was still there, "You should probably be going now," She said shakily.

"I want answers," Steve stood his ground, making a mental note to tell all of this to Tony and Fury.

"If you want to stay here, be my guest, but I'm going," She tried to brush past him and into the street.

Steve grabbed her by the arm, his other hand going for the phone in his pocket. "I don't want to hurt you," he repeated her own words back to her, "I just need answers."

Her eyebrows furrowed, and Steve grasped his phone and clicked the first number on speed dial.

His grip was strong on her arm. Kagome evaluated the situation, she didn't want to hurt this civilian, and definitely didn't want to get whoever he was calling involved.

X

She started resisting after the phone call went through. Kagome pulled back, but his grip only tightened.

"Let me go!" She hissed angrily.

" _Hey, Steve, who's with ya?"_ A deep male voice chuckled through the phone, _"Finally got yourself a girlfriend?"_

"Stark, get over here right now. We have another alien on our hands." Steve said seriously, tightening his grip on Kagome's arm.

"I'm not an alien- let go-" She pulled further.

"I know what I saw, and I know what you did to those creatures, you're coming with me." He was calm, and his grip stayed firm.

" _I'm on my way, I'll get Fury."_ The voice lost its cheery tone, and the phone call ended.

'God,' Kagome thought, 'Sesshomaru isn't going to be happy.'

X

Within two minutes an armoured truck had arrived at the entrance to the alleyway, a small group of armed soldiers spilling out of the truck and towards the man that held her arm.

'Captain, is this the alien?" One of the men pointed to her.

"Yes-" Steve started.

A man wearing dark clothing with an eyepatch, exited the truck, "Don't you think she's a bit _human_ to be an alien, Captain Rogers?" He quipped sourly.

Steve sighed, "Fury- she's like Wanda."

With that, the man now known as 'Fury', gestured to the soldiers, and they cuffed her.

"Hey! You can't do this!" She screamed, throwing her body against the men in a futile effort to escape.

"I'm sorry, Miss, but it's for your own good." The stoic man told her bitterly.

She snorted angrily, fire in her eyes.

"We'll discuss this later, Captain Rogers." Fury told him, both entering the truck.

X

In the back of the truck, hand cuffed, Kagome was seething. She was surrounded by armed men, restrained and tired from using some of her ki.

"Pretty little thing isn't she?" One of the soldiers sneered to the man sitting next to him. The man smirked.

"I wonder what she did to deserve all this," he chuckled.

They spoke about her as if she wasn't there, only serving to fuel her anger.

X

"Give me a brief, Captain." Fury demanded.

"I was running and I heard snarls from a nearby alleyway, I went to investigate and found the girl surrounded by what looked to be mutated animals." Steve paused.

"And?"

"And the palms of her hands started to glow, a bright pink, and then the alleyway filled with light. Then the creatures were ashes on the ground and it was just me and her."

"So you think she's like Wanda?" Fury raised his eyebrow.

"Yes- but also no at the same time. She has similar powers but the way she used them seemed different to Wanda. With Wanda you could see her energy manifest above her palms, and she can manipulate it. With this girl, it was almost _inside_ her body and trying to escape."

"If she can be persuaded to our side she could be a valuable asset." Fury mused, setting one hand on his hip.

X

 **A/N: How did you like it? If you're reading and want to see more PLEASE leave a review, it can be ANYTHING, just something to let me know you want to see more!**


	2. Chapter 2

The Will Of The Free

 **A/N: Hey! Welcome back! This story is set post Age of Ultron and will have a time-line incorporating the events of Captain America: Civil War**

One livid Kagome Higurashi was escorted into a large tower in what she hoped was still Brooklyn, New York. She kicked and strained against the arms of the men to no avail. She definitely didn't want to use her abilities on these people, only to escape. They stopped outside a small door, pushing her inside and turning the key behind them.

X

"What're you planning to do with her?" Steve asked, sitting on a chair in Fury's office.

"Interrogate her, we want to know if she's a danger to the public and if we can weaponize her." Fury clicked his knuckles.

"Why? SHIELD is strong enough already, and she didn't seem to want to be here." Steve sighed.

"Why not? If she's like Wanda we can maximise our strength as an organisation, if she can be persuaded to our side." Fury clasped his hands together.

"She's a _person-_ " Steve started, standing up.

"How do we know?" Fury shrugged, "Let's go observe her interrogation." Fury too, was now standing, gesturing for Steve to follow him out of the door.

X

Director Fury and Captain Rogers were standing behind a one-way glass wall. Kagome was inside, looking around her.

There was one agent in the room with her, sitting on a chair opposite the one she was cuffed to, but she could sense two auras outside the wall. One was the man that was the reason she was captured in the first place, the man with the warm blue aura. The other aura was cold and dark, but strong. The feel of it sent a shiver through her spine.

The agent opposite her cleared his throat.

"What is your name?" He asked.

"You can't keep me here!" She hissed.

"We are well within our rights, be cooperative and you stand a higher chance of being let go." The man's voice wavered slightly, but he carried on, "What is your name?"

Kagome sighed, "Kagome."

"Surname?"

She sighed, "Higurashi."

X

"Pull up all information on Kagome Higurashi and prepare a brief." Fury barked into his comm.

Steve watched her, seeing her in the light for the first time. She was pretty, a short woman that was almost stereotypical for her race, apart from her long hair and startling blue eyes.

"Do you really have the right to keep her here?" Steve turned to face Fury.

"After the New York attacks the government has given SHIELD the right to detain any with superhuman abilities." Fury stated emotionlessly.

X

Kagome felt the aura warm, blue aura outside the wall get angry. She turned towards the wall, looking Steve in the eye even though she couldn't see him.

"Miss Higurashi, could you provide details of your abilities?"

"I don't need to tell you that!" She growled, looking back at the agent opposite her.

"We reviewed footage from a security camera in the street and Captain Roger's eyewitness testimony. We are aware of your abilities, but not to their extent. Provide details of your abilities." The agent demanded.

X

Steve was starting to get annoyed, the girl was being interrogated and the government had given SHIELD the right to keep her as long as they see fit.

"Let me interrogate her." The words spilled out of his mouth before he could stop them.

Fury raised one eyebrow, "Are you sure, Captain?"

With that, Steve strode out of the room, ready to take over the interrogation.

He pushed open the door to the interrogation room.

X

Kagome could feel the warm, blue aura moving towards the door, about to enter her room. He pushed the door open, "I'll take it from here, Agent." Steve nodded.

"Of course, Captain." The agent left the room hastily.

"You! You were the one that caused all this!" Kagome spat angrily.

"I'm very sorry, ma'am, but what I saw needed to be investigated." He sighed, "I'm Steve Rogers, ma'am."

"I'm sorry you had to see what I did, Mr. Rogers." Kagome tried to be polite, ready to start trying to persuade her way out of the facility.

"You're in The Avenger's tower in Brooklyn, New York, Ma'am. I'm going to need you to answer a few questions and then I'll try to let you go as soon as possible."

"Let me guess, you need to know I'm not a danger to the public?" Kagome forced a smile.

"I'm afraid so, ma'am. What- What were the creatures you killed? Mutated animals?" Steve tried to be intimidating, leaning on the desk.

"I think so- I've seen them before, in Japan, a long time ago." Kagome filled her sentence with half-truths.

"In Japan?"

"I thought they might have been animals effected by radiation left over from the second world war, I had no idea they'd be in New York." She fibbed.

"And your abilities? Where did you get them?" Steve asked.

"I was born with them, I attribute them to radiation as well." She sighed.

"And the extent of your abilities? What could you do?" Steve leaned back.

"Healing, I can use them to repair wounds. I can use them to almost smother creatures like those in light, and kill them. And to charge objects with my power." Kagome didn't think she should be telling a stranger so much, so many useful bits of information. But the mans aura was so bright, so warm she just felt she could trust him.

"How did you discover your abilities?" Steve could see the woman physically relaxing.

"I was – I was mugged one night, and I pushed the woman away, and there was a _burn mark_ on her face after I slapped her," Kagome decided to leave out the fact the woman was a demon with a centipede body.

His face turned stony, "You've never killed anybody with your abilities, have you?"

Kagome shook her head, she'd only really killed Naraku and his hoard of demon's, but she doubted they'd be considered 'anybody' by todays' standards.

"Why did you come to America?" Steve noted she'd mentioned Japan as her place of origin.

"I felt like a change of scenery," It was partially true at least, it wasn't the main reason she was there but it was a positive.

"That will be all for now, ma'am, thank you for your cooperation." Steve stood up, to leave the room.

X

"Director Fury, Captain Rogers, I have your brief on Kagome Higurashi."

"Go ahead, Agent." The director gestured for the agent to start.

"Normal life, lived on Higurashi Shrine in Tokyo, Japan, until her 15th birthday. Reported missing for a few days before returning to the shrine, and from then on for two years absences attributed to sickness, though no hospital visits were made. From her 17th birthday onwards, she has been in the United States, making several visits back to Japan to visit her family. Notable connections include; Sesshomaru Tashio of Tashio Corps, Shippou Faukai, Mr. Tashio's adoptive brother and Kouga Oohali of Karikazi incorporated."

"Those family members you mentioned, any abnormalities there?" Director Fury questioned.

"Father died in a car accident shortly before her 15th birthday, only one remaining grandparent; her mother's father. Her mother had been widowed before and had one other child, younger than Kagome called Souta." The agent responded.

"That will be all for now," Fury dismissed him.

"Are we keeping her contained?" Steve furrowed his eyebrows.

"For now, yes." Fury answered in a stoic voice.

"You know what happened to Wanda when she didn't have stimulation for her abilities- we should give Miss Higurashi the same treatment until she can be proven not to be a threat." Steve glanced the man standing next to him.

"Hm. If she is anything like Wanda, she will eventually need stimulation." Fury scratched his chin. He pointed to the floor in front of him and two guards stepped forward. "Have Miss Higurahi escorted to a bigger room, the one down the hall near Captain Rogers will do. Be stationed outside of the room, and set up monitors for any abnormal activity." Fury barked at them.

X

She was being dragged away. Again.

"Hey! Watch where you're putting your hands!" She shouted. "Where are you taking me now?" Kagome pulled on their arms, squirming to get away.

The guards eventually stopped outside a room, opening the door, one of them turning to speak to her.

"You will be fed three times a day. I recommend sleeping while you can and not doing anything to upset Director Fury." He yelled mechanically, repeating a message.

Kagome sighed, before walking into the room, "Can I get the cuffs off?"

The guard shook his head, negative, "Not until authorisation has been received."

Huffing, she walked into the room, taking in her surroundings, hearing the door slam behind her.

The walls were a dull grey, a white bed placed against the wall, with two tables either side. From what she could see, there was an open door leading to an on suite bathroom. There was a black rug on the wooden floor at the foot of the bed and an armchair in the corner.

Next to the chair, she noted, were some large blocks of wood like children's building blocks but bigger.

She sat down on the bed and noticed a change of clothes on the pillow.

Naturally, her hand reached for the jewel around her neck, and she was happy to find it still there. They had taken her phone from her during the ride to the tower, but let her keep the jewellery, probably thinking it to be of no importance.

X

"I wonder where Wanda is," Vision mused, floating down the halls of the tower. He noted there were excess amounts of guards there that day, and Director Fury himself was there, though he didn't bother to question why.

He felt a strange power source coming from the wing where those that needed sleep had their rooms. "Perhaps that is her exercising her power?" He questioned aloud.

Floating at a faster pace, he went to go locate her, floating straight through walls until he was about to enter the one the power source was coming from.

X

"Well, you're not Wanda." Vision stared at the young-looking asian girl sitting on the end of a bed, one hand on a jewel around her neck.

"And that's not any normal necklace."

 **A/N: Bit of a longer chapter here, what do you think? I'm going to focus on integrating Kagome into the Avengers in the next few chapters!**

 **As always, please leave a review if you want to see more of my work, it can be anything, literally just a review saying "more please" or a "3" to let me know somebody's reading and wants to read more!**


	3. Chapter 3

The Will Of The Free

 **A/N: Welcome back! Hope you enjoyed the last chapter!**

"Who're you?" Kagome was terrified, what kind of demon had found her now? This one just floated through the wall like it was nothing and was hovering above the ground. She was concerned at the overwhelming power source coming from the forehead of the demon.

'It's like the shikon- so strong..'

"I am vision, now, who are you?" The red-skinned man tilted his head.

"Kagome," she gulped, feeling her powers flare beneath her skin at the brush of power on her aura.

"What are you doing in the Avengers Tower?" Vision asked.

"I-I don't know-" Kagome stuttered, disliking the strong feeling of another powerful object in the room.

"And _why_ do you have an infinity stone?" He floated closer to her, eyes fixated on the jewel.

"A what?" She too looked down at the jewel around her neck.

X

"Director! Vision is in her room!" One of the agents yelled to Director Fury.

"Pull him out, he could compromise information," Fury began.

"He's asking her about _infinity stones_!" The agent exclaimed.

"Pull him out, _now_." Fury barked to the guards, who promptly ran to the Avenger's wing.

X

A sharp knock on the door drew both of their attentions to the door. Without waiting for a response, guards piled in.

"Sir, we have an order from Director Fury for you to leave the room and stop speaking with the prisoner immediately." One of the guards informed him.

"Prisoner?" Vision floated over to the guards.

"Y-yes, please exit the room," The guard tripped over his words.

"As you wish," Vision took one last look at the girl before floating out through the wall next to the door.

The guards turned, following Vision out through the door. "D-director Fury w-wanted to speak to you!" The first guard called after him.

"I understand," Vision floated in the direction he could sense the energy of Fury.

X

"What were you thinking?" Fury yelled at the red-skinned avenger.

"Forgive me, I was not informed of her presence, and mistook her energy signal for Wanda's." Vision clarified.

It was then that Captain Steve Rogers walked through the door.

"Ah! Captain! It is nice to see you again!" Vision smiled at the man.

"Rogers! Vision just walked in and started chatting to _your_ prisoner!" Fury crossed his arms over his chest.

"S-she isn't _my_ prisoner!" Steve spluttered.

"She has an infinity stone. Why would you let a prisoner keep it?" Vision was confused, if she was a prisoner, surely they would have taken away her power source.

"AN INFINITY STONE?" Fury bellowed, fists clenched. "You mean, you are telling me NOW the girl has an INFINITY STONE and we HAVEN'T CONFISCATED IT?"

"Like the tesseract?" The captain questioned.

"The soul stone, I believe." Vision nodded.

"Come with me now, both of you. Interrogations' not over." Fury growled, storming off towards the room Kagome was being kept in.

X

The door opened suddenly, Kagome gasping in shock. The red-skinned man and Mr. Rogers were back, with eye-patch man!

"Where is the stone?" Fury threw the chair on his left over in anger. He couldn't believe an _infinity stone_ managed to slip through their security.

"What?" Kagome was lying on the bed, looking at the intruders.

Fury walked closer to her, "Where is the stone?"

"Stone?" Kagome was once again on edge around the hovering man.

"Around her neck, the soul stone." Vision too, got closer.

Their eyes were all fixated on the shikon no tama.

"Miss, where did you get that?" Steve put a hand on her shoulder and she flinched.

"I- I was born with it inside my body," She began, trying to make up a believable story.

"I don't believe that," Fury grunted.

Ignoring him, Kagome continued, "When I was mugged, the woman made a huge cut on the side of my body and the jewel fell out. Since then, people have been trying to steal it from me."

"But how were you born with it?" Fury raised both eyebrows.

"I was always told I resembled the shikon miko from the feudal era of Japan. She protected this jewel, the shikon no tama, from demons. She was eventually struck down, and her body burned with the jewel. It is my belief I am her reincarnation." Kagome fidgeted under the gaze of the red-skinned man who called himself 'Vision'.

"Demons? In Japan?" Steve was confused, what _exactly_ was going on in Japan?

"Five hundred years ago, in the feudal era. People believed in demons, spirits and holy power. Those demons could have been unevolved animals, or mutated ones." Kagome tried to ground her story more in reality.

"And you also believe you got your powers from her?" Fury asked.

"No, our abilities are different. We both were born to be protectors of the jewel, chosen by Midoriko." Kagome clicked her fingers.

"And who is she?" Fury was instantly thinking of building an army with pink flashy superpowers.

"When the jewel was formed, it was made with three demon souls and one human soul. They were fused together into this tiny jewel. Midoriko was the human, she was a powerful priestess at the time." She explained.

X

"Does that, ma'am, make your powers _holy_?" Steve was struggling to remember as much as possible about Shinto beliefs.

"Yes- I suppose so. It is my belief that I serve a _god_." Kagome nodded.

Steve twitched at the word 'god', having less than fond memories of a certain Norse trickster.

"When I was younger, I was trained as a priestess, I grew up on a shrine. I was given my powers by the jewel, to protect itself and to serve a god, or goddess." Kagome explained.

Fury moved closer, "We'll need to take the stone from you now, Miss Higurashi."

Kagome objected, "No! You can't!"

"Director, I too believe it would be unwise to remove the stone from its' protector. The soul stone is easily corruptible by those not pure of heart." Vision put an arm in between Fury and Kagome.

"Pure of heart? Don't tell me you believe in that-" Fury snorted.

"The soul stone senses the persons soul. It has the power to grant any wish, though a selfish wish will be corrupted and twisted. It can draw those it deems a threat inside itself, into the void within the jewel. I would keep it with one that can keep such a power contained, Director." Vision seemed to have extensive knowledge of how the shikon worked.

"If there is no other solution, I will allow it. But yourself and Steve are to watch her, _carefully._ The guards wouldn't be able to handle something like this, but I trust you to take care of it and subdue her if need be." Fury stormed out of the room.

'Is there truly no other way to keep the stone contained than to keep it with the girl?' He thought.

X

Now alone with the red-skinned man that was emitting a large, powerful aura and Captain Rogers, Kagome was afraid, "W-What is the stone on your forehead- why does it have such a powerful aura?"

"I am an android, with the infinity stone of mind in my head. I am a conscious manifestation of its abilities." Vision had a very robotic-sounding voice, in a way.

"An A.I.?" Kagome asked, sitting up straighter now.

"Yes, I suppose so." Vision mused.

"And who're you?" This time she addressed Steve, the man that found her in an alleyway and brought her here in the first place, the man that interrogated her.

"I'm Captain America, ma'am."

X

" _Cap called me yesterday, said he had an 'alien'."_ Tony's voice was serious.

"Knowing Steve, that could be anything." Natasha chuckled, speaking into a watch on her wrist.

" _I called Fury, Cap seemed so serious. I could hear a voice on the other end, haven't heard from either of them since."_

"Since you're so worried, why don't you pay them a visit?" Natasha was walking down a busy street in New York, trying to cross over the bustling road.

" _But Tasha! I don't wanna go alone!"_ Tony whined into his phone.

"I swear Tony, you act like you're two!" She wondered what she did to deserve to get stuck with a perpetual child.

" _Come on! It'll be fun!"_

"I'll meet you there at noon." She sighed, ending the call on her watch.

X

 **A/N: What did you think? Please review, just leave something to let me know you want more! Thanks for all the reviews last time, see you soon!**


	4. Chapter 4

The Will Of The Free

 **A/N: Welcome back everybody! Hope you enjoy this chapter!**

"I'm Captain America, ma'am."

"Who?" Kagome was confused. Wasn't 'Captain' a military title?

"Captain Steve Rogers, ma'am."

"He and the avengers saved the world from an alien invasion a while ago." Vision supplied.

"I know who the Avenger's are," Kagome shrugged, "Just not all their names."

"Were you in New York for the attack, ma'am?" Steve asked.

"The chitauri invasion? Yeah, the jewel was acting strangely and I could feel another large power source in the city." Kagome nodded.

X

Sesshomaru frowned. They had been tracking the priestess's phone for some time now, and he was _not_ pleased to see it was located in _The Avenger's Tower._ He was informed by Shippou that security footage from a nearby street had seen Kagome's flare of powers, a man enter the alleyway she was in, and a large truck pulled up a few minutes later, and she was bundled into it.

Judging from the grainy footage, the man was Steve Rogers, better known as Captain America. He had most likely witnessed Kagome's use of powers and quickly called whoever he was working for.

It would be _such_ a pain to get her back, especially when SHIELD had the legal right to keep her.

Growling under his breath, he set off to go find Shippou.

It was time to get it over with.

X

Vision turned his head left, "I sense guards coming this way."

"What time is it?" Kagome asked, "It'll probably be food- they don't want me to starve after all."

Neither of the men had time to answer her question, the guards came through the door without stopping to knock.

"Lunch, Miss Higurashi." One of them put a plate down on the bedside table before leaving.

"Oh, about noon then." Kagome answered her own question aloud.

X

" _Natasha!"_ Tony whined into the phone. _"We're gonna be late."_

"God, Tony. I'll be at the tower in five, wait for me, if you must."

" _I'm almost there, okay?"_

X

Kagome stared at the 'meal' on the plate, "Is this supposed to be food?" She muttered.

"I believe it has all the necessary nutrients for a human such as yourself." Vision stated.

Ignoring him, she continued to grumble, "It doesn't _look_ like food."

"It doesn't _smell_ like food." She wrinkled her nose, "I don't even want to _know_ what it tastes like."

Steve sighed, he wouldn't exactly want to eat _whatever_ it was they had made for her, "Fury's not going to like this, but, how about we go get some food from the kitchen, ma'am?"

"You're right. The Director will not like this." Vision nodded.

Both continued to ignore him, "Sure, sounds good."

Steve opened the door for her, walking out after her, guiding her in the direction of the kitchen.

X

"Natasha! There you are!" Tony exclaimed, walking over to her, both outside the entrance of The Avengers Tower.

"Why are you so worried? Steve can handle himself." Natasha shrugged.

"Capsickle sounded worried, he said he found something _alien_." Tony crossed his arms over his chest.

"Knowing him, that could be a CD player, TV or somebody with tattoos."

"He sounded worried okay? And I heard Fury showed up here just a few hours ago with some armoured truck," Tony sighed, "Fury wouldn't take those precautions unless necessary."

"Let's just get inside," Natasha grabbed the billionaires arm and dragged him into the building with her.

As soon as they entered the tower, they noticed that the usually quiet home of The Avengers was bustling with SHIELD agents.

"Something isn't right." Natasha muttered, increasing her pace. Seeing Director Fury in the distance, she pointed his presence out to Tony, "You were right, Fury _is_ here."

Fury turned around, now face-to-face with one Russian assassin and billionaire superhero, "Natasha," he nodded respectfully to her, "And Tony. What a surprise." He added the last part sourly.

"Fury, what the _hell_ are you doing here?" Tony instantly started worrying that whatever 'alien' Steve had found had caused some damage.

"You called me to find Captain Rogers, remember?" The man quipped.

"What exactly did Steve find?" The redhead wasted no time in skipping to what she needed to know.

"We should go somewhere more _private_ for that discussion, Miss Romanoff, Mr Stark. Follow me, to my office." Fury gestured for them to follow him to his office.

X

"What did Steve find?" Natasha asked again as soon as they got into the office.

Fury opened a file, showing what Natasha and Tony would have recognised as a picture of a small Asian girl, with the words 'Kagome Higurashi' next to the photo, should they have actually looked at the file.

"Steve found this girl." He pointed to the file, though neither of them bothered to look at the photo, and ignored it completely.

"So he _didn't_ find an alien?" Tony sounded disappointed but relieved at the same time.

"I'm afraid not, Mr. Stark. What he found was this girl, Kagome Higurashi, killing fifteen or so mutated animals with abilities similar to Wandas'. Vision later determined she is the holder of the soul infinity stone." Fury cracked his knuckles.

"And you let her keep the stone?" Natasha's voice was steely, reflecting upon the trouble caused by infinity stones in the past.

"I didn't want for her to be able to maintain possession of such an item, I assure you Miss Romanoff. But Vision also determined that as the protector of the stone, only she can wield and contain its' power. He informed us that should anybody else attempt to handle the stone, both themselves and the stone would be corrupted." Fury relayed Vision's findings to them.

"So you're telling me, that there's a girl, in this building, with powers like Wanda, who has an infinity stone and we have no idea how to control her?" Tony raised his voice.

"We _can_ control her, she seems to have no desire to hurt any of us." Fury shrugged.

"Are you planning on recruiting her for The Avenger's Initiative?" Natasha clasped her hands together and rested them on the desk.

"Perhaps, though for now we should focus on letting her rest and persuading her that our cause is valuable-" Fury started.

" _Our_ cause? You don't even know this girl! You picked her up a few hours ago!" Tony yelled in exasperation.

"Exactly, we shouldn't overwhelm her. I expect she will be eating now, or resting."

X

The kitchen in The Avenger's Tower was very big, with large countertops made of marble and the biggest fridge she'd ever seen. More importantly, though, it housed actual food.

Peering into the fridge, she spotted some of the ingredients she'd need, "Is there any bread in the cupboard, Captain Rogers?" She asked, half of her body practically _inside_ the fridge.

"Yes, ma'am, there is. And please, just call me Steve." He smiled, pulling a loaf out of the cupboard and setting it down on the countertop.

"Thank you, Steve, call me Kagome." She grabbed the bread off the counter, and pulled various other ingredients out of the fridge, "Hey, would you like a sandwich?"

"If it's not too much trouble ma- Kagome." Steve leaned against the counter.

X

Vision stood there, alone, in the middle of the room that now belonged to one Kagome Higurashi.

"Director Fury won't like this." He repeated to himself, before flying through the wall and into Tony and Natasha.

"Vision! Haven't seen you in a while, how're you doing?" Tony was enthusiastic to spend more time with the android.

"Very well, Mr. Stark, and yourself?" Vision greeted.

Natasha grunted, "Vision, what do you know about the girl Fury's practically kidnapped?"

"Miss Higurashi has been here for the past 3 hours. She possesses the soul infinity stone, and she went to the kitchen, with Captain Rogers to get food." Vision repeated the basics of what he knew.

"Are you insane? Why have you let her keep the infinity stone if she's dangerous enough that we have to have her in the tower?" Tony was instantly maddened at the reminder the girl was a danger and was allowed to have the infinity stone.

"It is the nature of the soul stone to corrupt those that are not its' protector. I believe it unwise for anybody to separate the stone from Miss HIgurashi, lest it corrupt them with greed for power." Vision watched Tony's face darken.

"She, a girl we barely know, is allowed to roam about the tower, with an _infinity stone_ and nobody else can touch it?" Tony huffed.

"I assure you, Captain Rogers is very capable of subduing her should the need arise for it." Vision tried to be reassuring.

X

"Thank you for the sandwich, Kagome." Steve smiled as he put the plate in the sink.

"You're welcome, Steve."

X

"That's the chick with the infinity stone?" Tony gaped.

"She doesn't look like much," Natasha muttered.

"She's hot!" Tony practically purred.

X

 **A/N; Wow, I was supposed to have prewritten the whole story but I was so proud of the first chapter I published it straight away. Now I'm actually feeling motivated to keep writing from all the reviews! I didn't expect this story to get as much attention as it has! Please keep leaving reviews, they really help keep me inspired to write!**

 **!REVIEW!**


	5. Chapter 5

The Will Of The Free

 **A/N: Welcome back! I hope you enjoyed the last chapter! Thank you for continuing to read this story!**

"Tony!" Steve glared at him.

"What? It's true!" Tony raised his hands in mock surrender.

"The stone around your neck, that's the infinity stone?" Natasha addressed the girl in front of her directly.

"Who're you?" The woman's cold attitude and haunted eyes reminded Kagome of Sango after her family was murdered, or Kagura, wishing her entire life for freedom from her tyrannical creator.

"Natasha Romanoff. The stone around your neck, is it the infinity stone?" Her eyes were solely on the jewel.

"I think the soul stone is what _your_ people would call it. I call it the shikon no tama." Kagome was sitting on one of the many marble countertops, swinging her legs. 'Just how many people are going to interrogate me?' She thought.

"The jewel of four souls?" Natasha translated the Japanese easily.

Kagome nodded, "Who's he?" She asked pointing to Tony.

"Now, _surely_ you know who I am." Tony smirked.

She shook her head, "Who are you?"

"Tony Stark, genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist." He introduced himself, "Did that jog your memory?"

"It's nice to meet you Mr. Stark, but I can't say I've ever heard of you before," She shrugged.

The smirk on Tony's face was gone, instead a smirk appearing on Natasha's face, "Looks like you're not as famous as you think you are, Tony."

Spluttering, Stark stared at the girl swinging her legs on the countertop.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Miss Higurashi." Natasha smiled, using the name Vision addressed her with.

"You too, Miss Romanoff." Kagome returned the smile with one of her own.

"Steve, can I talk to you, outside for a minute?" Natasha grabbed his arm.

"Sure." Steve nodded, "Watch Kagome for me would you, Tony? Fury wanted me to keep an eye on her."

"Well yeah, I suppose she does _possess an infinity stone._ " Tony grumbled.

X

Natasha rushed him outside of the kitchen into the long, grey corridor, "What do you know about her?"

"Her name is Kagome, she's from Japan, nineteen years of age, raised on a Shinto shrine in Tokyo. She believes she got her power from a combination of the soul stone and radiation left over from the second world war. She had many absences in high school, and was reported missing on her 15th birthday, though she was found within days. She calls the creatures I watched her kill 'mutated animals' and said she'd seen them in Japan before, but contributed them to radiation mutations." Steve summarised.

X

"Are you _sure_ you've never heard of me?" Tony pouted.

"I'm sorry Mr. Stark, but I don't think I've seen your name anywhere before, but I am fairly new to western culture so that could be a factor." She shrugged.

"List all the Avenger's you know." He practically demanded.

"Well, there's Steve, Vision, the Black Widow, the man with the bow whose name escapes me, Scarlet Sorceress? No! Scarlet Witch, the green angry man, the god with the hammer, the man with the electronic wings and two tin men. I think that's all of them."

"T-tin men?" Tony's face fell.

"Am I getting my English confused again? Are those correct?"

"Iron Man and his trusty sidekick, War Machine, is what I'm sure you meant to say." Tony tried to revive his ego, that was so sorely bruised.

"Aren't they practically the same? Both are just men in metal."

"I assure you, Kagome, there is a vast difference between them. Iron Man is strong, capable and iconic, War Machine is his sidekick, and therefore a pale imitation of the original."

Kagome frowned at his wording, did he really see one as a copy of the other? She knew _exactly_ what it was like to be referred to as a 'pale imitation of the original', and she instantly regretted her statement.

"Not at all, Mr. Stark. I'm sure War Machine had their own unique qualities and abilities that make them just as qualified to be an avenger as Iron Man." Kagome defended.

"Of course Rhodey is unique, just not as good as Iron Man." Tony shrugged off her argument cockily.

"You wouldn't happen to be Iron Man would you, Mr. Stark?" It was possible, she was in The Avenger's Tower.

"Now, where would you get that idea, my dear Kagome?"

X

"Only she can control the stone, Natasha. I'd take it away from her if I could. I know it's dangerous allowing her to keep something so powerful, but it would be even _more_ dangerous if we let somebody else look after it." Steve tried to convince her.

"I know Steve, you've told me a million times. What are we going to do? Let her go?" Natasha shoved her hands in her pockets.

"I don't know, that's up to Fury to decide."

X

"Shippou, prepare my car." Sesshomaru demanded icily, talking to the kit through a comm.

"Please can I go with you? It's been _ages_ since I've seen her!" He could practically _hear_ the other demon pouting.

"You saw her _days_ ago, kit." Sesshomaru had grown fond of the playful fox after spending so much time with him, eventually adopting him publicly.

"I know, but now she's been taken," Shippou's voice lost its' playful tone.

"Fine, but you are to act appropriately at all times." Sesshomaru had been preparing himself, it was now time to haggle for the freedom of the priestess once engaged to his brother.

"Thank's Sessh! Also, car's ready, get down here!" Shippou called.

Sesshomaru exited his office, taking the elevator from his office on the 17th floor to the ground floor.

On his way out of the building he was met with the shout of his secretary, Lian, "Hey! You can't leave yet! You have to get your paperwork done-"

The cries of the human secretary faded into background noise as he ignored her and continued on his journey to go his car.

The sleek supercar was parked just outside the building, with security cameras' on the car at all times. He opened the drivers' door, finding one fox demon already seated in the passenger seat.

"There you are!" He smiled at the white-haired demon.

"Hn. Let's go." Sesshomaru nodded in acknowledgement, starting the car, setting the destination for The Avenger's Tower.

X

"Director!" One of the agents tapped on the door to his office.

"Yes, Agent?" Fury asked.

"Sesshomaru Tashio and Shippou Faukai are here, and they want to see both yourself and Miss Higurashi." The agent reported.

"Bring them in, now."

"Yes, sir."

X

"Director Fury." Sesshomaru's voice was icy.

"Mr. Tashio, it's a pleasure to meet you, and you too, Mr. Faukai." Fury didn't want to make enemies with these powerful buissness men.

"I believe you have something that belongs to us," Shippou quipped, skipping the formalities.

"Captain Rogers observed Miss Higurashi using her powers on what we believe were mutated animals attempting to attack her. We have the legal right to take her into custody and hold her as long as we wish." The director cut straight to the point.

"We would very much like Kagome back, Director." Sesshomaru almost sighed, the man was not willing to give up easily.

"I thought that would be the case, Mr. Tashio. I would like to propose a deal with you." Fury stated.

Sesshomaru knew it would come to this, he knew it and he loathed it. Why couldn't the girl just keep herself out of trouble?

"Go ahead, Director." Shippou interjected, realising Sesshomaru was busy contemplating the very idea of dealing with a man like Fury.

"I propose that the girl stay with us, here, and be allowed to develop her abilities. In return, she can have free visiting as she wants, and she will be given just as much right to anything as the rest of my team."

"You wish for her to join The Avenger's Initiative?" Sesshomaru raised one sculpted eyebrow at that.

"I believe she could be a powerful asset to my team, Mr. Tashio." Sesshomaru knew _all_ about Fury's power-hungry nature.

"I have conditions." Shippou interjected again.

"What kind of conditions, Mr. Faukai?" The director had a demanding air about him.

"No experiments. I don't want her to become one of your failed science tests." Shippou's voice was steely, he was fighting for the freedom of a woman he considered his mother.

"That is agreeable. I wouldn't want something bad to happen to Miss Higurashi." Fury nodded.

"Don't take her necklace, or her phone. The jewel is immensely powerful and she should have a way of contacting us at all times." Shippou demanded.

"I agree, we thought it best to leave such a powerful relic with its protector, and her phone will be returned upon your agreement to this arrangement."

"Thank you, Director. That will be all." Sesshomaru stood up, shaking the man's hand.

"May we see Kagome, Director?" Shippou asked, glancing at the door.

"Yes, you may. Please follow me." The Director stood up, ready to direct the men to the girl.

They walked through the grey corridors, Fury leading the two men. He was about to open the door to the room he left Steve, Vision and Kagome in when he saw Vision floating in the hall.

"Director. Miss Higurashi is with Captain Rogers in the kitchen, I believe." Vision told the men, before floating through a nearby wall.

The director provided no explanation, and the business men asked no questions, though they were sure to discuss the red-skinned man's sudden appearance between themselves later on.

X

"This is the kitchen, Mr. Fukai and Mr. Tashio." When the trio walked into the room, they were greeted with the sight of Kagome washing the dishes she had made sandwiches on before, Captain Rogers standing next to her, offering to help and Anthony Stark was sitting at a table, opposite the black widow.

All of them turned to the door at the sudden intrusion, "Sessh? Shippou?" Kagome smiled.

She pulled her hands out of the water and took the yellow rubber gloves she had been wearing to wash the dishes with off and set them on the side.

She ran to them to hug them both quickly, muttering in Japanese to them.

"Are you here to pick me up?" She whispered in Shippou's ear.

Overhearing her, Director Fury shook his head, "We have come to an arrangement, Miss Higurashi."

Her eyes darted to Sesshomaru, and he gave her a knowing look, "We will sort out the legalities soon, miko." He reassured her.

"Miss Higurashi is to develop her abilities here, in order for us to decide weather or not she is in fact, a threat to the general population. She _will_ be allowed to keep the soul stone, and to have contact with the outside world." Fury addressed everybody in the room, not just Kagome.

"So I have to be here I'm just.. not a prisoner?" Kagome raised an eyebrow.

"You have to be here until we can deem you not a threat, Miss Higurashi. After that, you can either join The Avenger's Initiative or have to report to us every three months." Fury told her about her options.

Kagome grimaced, the last thing she wanted was some strange alphabet-soup agency involved in her life all the time.

"You have no choice miko, just co-operate." Sesshomaru hissed into her ear in a sharp tone.

"Thank you for this opportunity." Kagome forced a smile.

X

 **A/N: Thanks for reading! Please leave a review, it keeps me motivated. Literally just anything, just tell me if you want to see more of this story, please!**


	6. Chapter 6

The Will Of The Free

 **A/N: Thanks to those that reviewed last time!**

"You are very welcome, Miss Higurashi. Since you will be here for a prolonged period of time, you are more than welcome to go back to your apartment, with one of my agents, and collect your belongings." Fury was _damn near_ smirking. 'She's powerful, holds an infinity stone and legally bound to this place,' Fury was congratulating himself on adding another powerful asset to the team.

"Thank you, Director." The smile was getting harder to force.

Shippou wrapped an arm around her shoulder, sensing her discomfort, "It'll be okay- we'll get you out of here," He whispered into her ear.

"I trust you, Shippou." She replied, leaning her head on his shoulder.

Sesshomaru watched the exchange, a softness for the fox demon and the priestess in his eyes, "Shippou, we should sort out the legalities now."

"You're going?" Kagome turned to him.

"For now, we'll pay you another visit once you're settled in." Sesshomaru explained.

Shippou turned to hug her, burying his face in her neck, "I'll miss you,"

"It'll be a couple of _days_ at most," Sesshomaru sighed at the overdramatic nature of the fox demon, but knew better than to break the moment between mother and son.

"I'll miss you too," Kagome sighed, returning the hug wholeheartedly.

Shippou broke away to take his place by Sesshomaru's side, "We'll be back," he whispered for only Kagome to hear.

"Goodbye," She whispered back.

"He would be proud of you, Kagome." Sesshomaru whispered, putting a hand on her shoulder in reassurance.

"Thank you," She muttered, watching both business men leave the room, Director Fury in tow.

X

"So, Kagome, wanted to go back to your place?" Tony smirked, his flirtatious attitude was back.

"Tony, don't you have a multi-billion dollar business to run?" Steve was leaning against the marble countertop, arms folded over his chest.

"Who left an icicle up _your_ ass?" Tony muttered. 'Steve _is_ right, I should probably get back to Pepper before she finds out I've been flirting with somebody that's practically a minor.' He thought.

Steve ignored him, turning to the girl staring forlornly out of the door, "Kagome, how about we go to your apartment and collect your things?"

"If it's not too much trouble, yes please." She turned to him and smiled.

He followed her out of the room, guiding her down the stairs.

X

"We can walk if you want, my apartment is only a block over." They were standing in the lobby of The Avenger's Tower.

Some of the agents in the lobby turned to look at her, whispering, "Why is she out so soon?" "Are they freeing her?" "I thought she had powers?" and the like.

"Sure, which way?" Steve asked, ignoring the whispers of the agents that _shouldn't even be there._

"Left, then right, c'mon." She grabbed his arm, leading him slowly out of the tower.

'I wonder if I could make a run for it?' She asked herself. 'SHIELD is a multi-billion dollar funded government agency, they'd find me in minutes. Not to mention Captain Rogers is right behind me, he'd catch me.' The voice of reason told her.

So instead, she focused on finding the apartment Sesshomaru bought her when she first came to New York.

"There's the building!" She told him, tugging harder on his arm.

X

Steve was watching the woman clasping so tightly on his hand walk in front of him, going to her apartment. Conflicting emotions flickered across her face. There was no doubt being taken by a mysterious agency and having your life taken over by said agency was going to be difficult for her to cope with. Steve could only hope she would adapt well.

X

"This way." She dragged him through the complex, towards an elevator in the middle of the ground floor. "It'll be quickest to go up the elevator- my apartment is on the top floor and I don't feel like going up every flight of stairs."

The elevator doors opened, and the two of them stepped in. Kagome relinquished her hold on Steve's hand to press the top floor, and he couldn't help but miss the feel of her hand in his.

X

The elevator stopped, doors opening slowly to reveal a narrow corridor with a door either side. Kagome pointed to the door on the left, "This one's mine." She pulled a key out of her pocket, thankful that SHIELD hadn't confiscated it.

The door swung open with a creak, before she even had the opportunity to put the key in the lock, revealing a completely trashed apartment.

"Oh my god." Kagome gasped, pushing her way inside.

The wallpaper was torn, her bed overturned, tiles from the kitchen and bathroom floor were cracked, the curtains ripped and furniture smashed.

"Somebody's been in my apartment," Kagome shuddered.

Steve stepped inside after her, hearing her distressed words, "I'm guessing this isn't how you left it?"

Ignoring the man behind her, she continued to look around. Her other jewellery was left on her bedside table, some of it strewn across the floor. It was clear somebody had been looking for something.

"I'll call the director." Steve told her, putting his hand on her shoulder reassuringly.

X

Within minutes, the apartment was flooded with SHIELD agents, taking pictures, writing details down, and among it all, was Kagome, trying to salvage what she could.

Gingerly, she picked up a two photo frames from her bedside table, they had been overturned and some of the glass smashed.

The first was of her with her family at her graduation, her mother, grandfather and younger brother standing proudly next to her.

The second picture was of her with her friends from the feudal era, Sango, Miroku, a young Shippou, Kirara and Inuyasha, demon features covered up so she could show the picture to her friends.

Sighing, she gazed at the picture frame. She wouldn't see Inuyasha, Sango or Miroku again, there was no doubt about that.

X

Fury arrived on scene twenty minutes later, armed guards escorting him around, "Miss Higurashi- did you notice any valuables missing?"

She shook her head, "They went through my jewellery, but didn't take anything."

"Is it possible they were looking for the soul stone?"

"Maybe, but not many people know about what it can do-" She started.

"Who knows what it can do?" Fury asked, determination blazing in his eye.

"My mother, grandfather and younger brother. Sesshmaru, Sesshomaru's butler, Jakken, Shippou, Kouga Oohali, Ginta Oohali, Hakaku Oohali and Kouga's wife, Ayame Oohali." She listed those she could remember off the top of her head.

"I will perform a background check on all of those who know, for now, let's get yourself and Captain Rogers back to the tower, Miss Higurashi." Fury called Steve over, telling them both to follow him to the car that was waiting outside.

X

Kagome sat comfortably on the leather seats of the car, next to Steve.

"The security footage from outside your apartment is being sent to us now. When was the last time you were in your apartment, Miss Higurashi?" Fury looked at her with a steely gaze.

"Two days ago, I went to Shippou's penthouse yesterday, and fell asleep there." She shrugged.

"I will notify Mr. Tashio and Mr. Faukai of this development, since they bought the apartment for you."

Kagome nodded, looking down at the picture frames in her hands, she would need new frames to put them in, they were going in her 'new room' in Avengers Tower.

The car stopped, pulling up outside of The Avengers Tower.

"It's been a rough few hours for you, Miss Higurashi. I expect you to get some rest, the day has been overwhelming for you, I'm sure." Fury stated.

Steve helped Kagome out of the car, walking her to her room.

X

Kagome lay down on the soft bed provided to her by SHIELD. The cracked photo frames were resting on the bedside table, along with the discarded food from earlier.

She was exhausted, emotionally and physically, soon, she drifted off into a deep sleep, resting peacefully.

X

Steve stared at the door that Kagome had just closed, after whispering a quiet "Goodnight" to him.

The girl had gone through so much in so little time, she would be exhausted. While Steve did regret being the cause of her captivity, he was also glad she was here. She was refreshing and enigmatic, peaceful but also a roaring spitfire when challenged.

Who knows? Perhaps if SHIELD hadn't taken her she would have made it back to her apartment, only to find an intruder.

Steve shuddered at the thought, maybe he too should get some sleep.

X

" _You're telling me that after we leave her with you for a whole two hours, we find her apartment broken into."_ Shippou nearly growled, but remembered his promise to Sesshomaru about 'acting appropriately'.

"I'm very sorry Mr. Faukai- we will be sending you a file of all we know about the intruder, along with security footage." Fury said.

" _I'll be visiting her in the morning- no doubt she is shaken."_ Shippou grunted.

"I understand, Mr. Faukai, SHIELD has her best interests in mind and we feel she could use some fresh air to help her adjust. Soon she will be meeting _all_ members of the Avenger's to help integrate her into the SHIELD community during her stay here."

" _Thank you, Director. I will be seeing you tomorrow I presume?"_

"Of course, Mr. Faukai."

X

"You mean you found nothing?" The man roared.

"I'm sorry, master. The girl wasn't there- neither was the stone." The servant grovelled, on his knees and begging for mercy, "I brought one of the demon's with me- they are naturally attracted to the soul stone and he could not locate the stone at her residence."

"I sent you to Terra for a reason, for a mission. You failed me, now you will pay." The man bellowed, rising to his feet.

"Thanos! Please!" The man screamed, begging for his life, "Spare me!"

He wasn't spared, Thanos knew no mercy.

X

"Shippou, it's time we start work on our legal case." Sesshomaru was seated across a desk from Shippou. "Dig up all information on Fury, and the rest of the Avengers. We're fighting against the government here, we need all the help we can get."

"I understand, I'll put together a portfolio of the best lawyers we have." Shippou nodded.

Sesshomaru swore the girl was more trouble than she was worth. But what she was worth did not matter, he had to fight for her either way. He promised his brother he would protect and provide for the miko.

Sighing, he started his inquiries into the Avengers.

X

Steve started walking to his own room, intent on sleeping. Not paying attention he walked straight into a smaller figure, Natasha.

"Watch yourself, Steve," She smiled.

"I will, Tasha." He returned the smile with one of his own, "Who were the men with Fury that came to see Kagome?"

"Business men, Sesshomaru Tashio and Shippou Faukai. Old friends of Kagome's I presume." The redhead shrugged, "Fury will undoubtedly look into them, you should ask him if you want to know anything. Or just talk to Kagome."

"For now, I'm just going to sleep,"

"Tony and I are both staying here for now, I know he's far too curious to leave now." She sighed.

"Where's Clint?" Steve realised he hadn't seen Hawkeye in a week or so.

"Still on mission with Wanda, I expect they'll both make it back soon." It seemed strange to see The Black Widow without Hawkeye at her side.

"Good, it would be nice to have the whole team around for once." Steve grinned.

"You're forgetting Bruce," Natasha flicked him in the shoulder.

"It'd be nice if he was here too,"

X

Thanos grinned, he knew the girl had the soul stone. It was just a matter of retrieving it. He already had the space stone, and was preparing to launch an attack to retrieve the power stone from the novacore.

Soon, everything would be in place, soon, he would have ultimate power.

Soon, he would gain the attention of his beloved, and he would stand by her side.

X

 **A/N: Please review! They keep me super motivated to continue to write! Thanks to those who reviewed, especially kakashixangela, for reviewing pretty much every time I update!**

 **Who do** _ **you**_ **think Thano's beloved is? Leave a guess and comment suggestions for the storyline!**


	7. Chapter 7

The Will Of The Free

 **A/N: Welcome back! Hope you enjoy the chapter! Also, I've become addicted to 'The Heathers' soundtrack, have any of you seen it?**

She rubbed her eyes, sitting up in 'her' bed. Kagome tried to discern the time of day, but without windows, a clock or a phone it was difficult. Slipping out of bed, she got up to inspect the change of clothes left on the chair that had been put back together after Director Fury had swung it across the room earlier.

A leathery jumpsuit and some ankle boots were in the pile.

That was another thing she would have to get used to, other people controlling aspects of her life she previously considered hers. The things she wore, the food she ate, the places she could go.

Slipping the jumpsuit and boots on, she soon discovered the zip didn't go as far as she had hoped.

'Who thought this would be convenient for me to wear?' She thought.

X

Steve woke to a knocking on his door, not waiting for a reply, Tony entered.

"There you are capsickle! I was beginning to worry you decided to take another 70-year-long nap." Tony smirked, "I was thinking of taking hot stuff outside- fresh air would be good for her, not to mention the fact that I get to spend more time with her."

"I'll come with you, Tony." Steve sat upright.

"You'll spoil the fun!" He whined.

"I don't trust you alone with her, Tony."

"Oh?" Tony's smirk grew wider, 'I've ruffled his feathers!' He thought gleefully.

X

She sat down on her bed again, boredom setting in. Kagome took a deep breath and focused on her powers, searching for nearby auras. She detected two outside her door, and noted they were dull, from fatigue. Around the tower, she could sense Steve's aura, blue, protective and warm. Natasha Romanoff's steely silver aura full of confidence, Vision's yellow and green aura, blazing with power, Tony Stark's deep red aura, flaring with enthusiasm.

Her stomach growled, and she figured she should go to the kitchen and eat, instead of attempting to digest whatever 'food' they kept leaving for her.

She opened the door slowly, to let the guards know she was coming out of her room. "Good morning," She greeted both of them.

"I'm going to the kitchen," She pointed towards said room.

"I will escort you." One of the guards said monotonously, walking with fast strides by her side to the kitchen.

Making her way to the large fridge, she pulled the handle open, revealing a fully stocked fridge. 'I don't think I've ever seen a fridge this full!' She thought in bewilderment.

Closing the fridge, she decided instead to rummage through the cupboards, looking for the ingredients she wanted to use.

X

Captain Roger's walked out of his room to meet Tony, dressed in casual modern clothing.

"C'mon, Capsickle, let's find Kagome."

"She'll probably have gone to make herself breakfast- she refuses to eat the food SHIELD provides for her." Steve provided.

"Smart girl, it'd be easy for Fury to poison her." Tony smirked, enjoying the way Capatain America tensed at the idea of somebody poisoning her, "Not that he'd want to." Tony added for reassurance.

"Let's find her."

X

"Hey Steve!" Kagome waved, looking up from eating her rice.

"Do I not get a hello, too?" Tony frowned.

"Hello to you too, Tony." She smiled, finishing the rice, and placing the bowl in the sink.

"That's what I want to hear." He shoved his hands in his pockets, "I was thinking we could take a walk outside, shopping would be fun, a little bonding time between the three of us!"

"Sure, does Fury know?" Kagome leant against the marble countertop.

Tony shrugged, "Details, details.." He muttered, trailing off.

Ignoring his mutterings, Kagome asked another question, "Won't people recognise you? You did say you were famous after all."

Steve smiled, 'Just like Tony to tell her he's famous, he was probably mortified when she didn't immediately recognise him.' He thought.

"I brought disguises!" The billionaire exclaimed, pulling out a bag. "Don't worry Kagome, you won't have to wear one, you're just like a normal person!"

"Thanks?" She tilted her head to the side.

Tony rummaged through the bag, "Capsickle! I brought you theseeee…" Tony pulled out a pair of comedic glasses, the type with the fake nose and eyebrows.

"Very funny." Steve sighed, his lips twitching at the mans' childishness.

"I thought they would really _add_ something to the shopping trip." He shrugged.

Kagome chuckled, watching the scene between Steve and Tony unfold, "How about you wear some sunglasses and a hat instead?"

"I think that's a much better option, Kagome." Steve moved to grab his hat and a pair of Sam's sunglasses from a nearby countertop.

"I disagree, Steve would look stunning in these." Tony pointed to the glasses again.

X

Soon, the trio were walking into the bustling streets of Brooklyn, New York, Steve and Tony both wearing hats and sunglasses. Kagome was wearing a large overcoat she found in the wardrobe of 'her' room. It was one of the few items of clothing in there, the others being mostly jackets, socks, and hats.

"Where to first?" Kagome looked between the two men either side of her.

"Fulton mall, there's stores there, and a Sharwarma down the street from it." Tony told them, glancing across the street.

"Just down this road here," Tony pointed to another bustling street.

'All these streets look the same!' Kagome mentally groaned.

"There it is, come on," Tony gestured for them to follow him, a suspicious spring in his step.

Steve glanced at the short blue-eyed girl standing in front of him, and crossed the street after her.

They entered the mall, only to find it absolutely _swarming_ with people.

"Great." Kagome muttered under her breath, pushing through the crowd after Tony.

He stopped outside a store, "We're going shopping and I'm going to buy you clothes that _don't_ make you look like a SHIELD agent." Tony told her, guiding her inside, Steve trailing after them.

X

"Try this one," Tony pulled out another 'skirt'.

"Tony! That can barely be counted as a belt- let alone a skirt!" Kagome exclaimed.

"Aw, come on!" He pouted. "How about we look at dresses next, since you're so against skirts."

"I'm not against _skirts_ I'm just against the skirts _you_ pick." She grumbled.

Unfazed, Tony kept looking through the racks. "How about this one?" He held up a sliver dress for her to see.

"I guess I'll humour you." She muttered, taking the dress from his hands and trudging towards the changing room.

X

She took of her overcoat and unzipped the jumpsuit, slipping on the silver dress. It came to her mid-thigh, and clung loosely to her body, with a sweetheart neckline. Kagome ran a hand through her hair and exited the changing room.

X

"What do you think?" She asked both men.

"Hot." Tony purred.

"You look beautiful, Kagome." Steve complimented.

"Thanks," She smiled.

 **A/N: Bit of a shorter chapter this time, I've been pretty busy today and there may only be one update tomorrow, I'm busy then too. PLEASE REVIEW! They help keep me motivated, so if you want to see more PLEASE let me know, it means a lot!**


	8. Chapter 8

The Will Of The Free

 **A/N: Welcome back! Hope you enjoy this chapter!**

Kagome walked out of the store, Steve and Tony behind her, a large bag of clothes in her hands.

"Let's go to Shawarma next," Tony pointed down the street next to the mall.

Both of them followed him down the street, to Shawarma, "This where we went last time, Tony?" Steve asked.

"Yeah, pretty good wasn't it?" Tony didn't wait for an answer, pushing the door to the small restaurant open.

Steve held the door open for Kagome, entering after her.

"The nachos here are _amazing_ , so are the chips." Tony told Kagome, pushing her into a chair.

"What exactly _is_ a shawarma?" Kagome was unfamiliar with the food, and scanned the menu in confusion.

"A Levantine meat preparation, kind of like a burrito, with mixed meats and vegetables." The billionaire explained, "Capsickle and I, with the rest of the team went here after we, you know, saved the world."

X

"I said I'd pay her a visit, Sessh. She was probably shaken up after her apartment was broken into. I think she needs to see some familiar faces." Shippou told the older demon.

"I agree- she needs some type of normalcy in her life."

"Nothing about Kagome is _ever_ normal." Shippou snorted.

"Hn." Sesshomaru agreed with a grunt.

"I'm going to go now- here's the portfolio I created of the _best_ lawyers."

"Thank you, kit."

"I'd do anything for her, and I know you would too." Shippou smiled softly.

Sesshomaru nodded, taking the portfolio from Shippou and flicking through it.

Shippou strode out of the office, taking the elevator to the ground floor.

Climbing into his car, he wondered if SHIELD had returned her phone yet, though there was no doubt SHIELD would monitor what she watched, who she talked to and the like.

X

"Ah, I see." Kagome nodded, watching a waiter approach them.

"Can I take your orders?"

Tony took in a deep breath, "One – no two large Diet Pepsis', one side of cheesy nachos with extra salsa, a side of chips, also with extra salsa, and a shawarma with mixed lamb, beef and lettuce."

The waiter wrote Tony's large order down quickly, turning next to Kagome, "And you, Miss?"

"Some large curly fries with salsa, and a large Diet Pepsi, please." She smiled to the waiter.

"And you, Sir?"

"A lamb shawarma and a side of cheesy nachos, please."

After ten minutes, their orders arrived.

"So- Kagome," Tony started, shovelling another handful of cheesy, salsa covered nachos into his mouth, "What's it like growing up on a shrine?"

Steve instantly realised the point of the trip was to question her, and extract information without making it look suspicious.

"It was different to what I suppose an average Japanese childhood is like. My shrine is dedicated to the legend of the shikon no tama, or the soul stone as you call it. My grandfather trained me as a priestess, and shrine keeper, but it's not something I want to continue indefinitely." She shrugged.

"What about your family? How much do they know about all this?" He asked.

"They know I'm in America, and they know about the jewel and my powers. They _don't_ know that I'm SHIELD's new prisoner, though."

Tony digested the information, and his nachos, "I see." He muttered.

They finished their food, and Tony called the waiter over to pay the bill.

"I think it's about time we get back to the tower," Tony said, glancing down at his watch.

X

Shippou's car pulled up outside the Avenger's Tower. He hopped out of the car, striding quickly into the lobby of the tower.

"I'm here to see Kagome." He told the receptionist, not waiting for a response and walking off in the direction of her room.

He noted there were no guards outside the door, and opened it slowly, "She's not here." He muttered.

He was not deterred, instead turning around and going in the direction of the kitchen, where he met her last time.

The room was empty. Shippou grunted and inhaled, searching for her scent. She smelled of vanilla, and cinnamon. He guessed the scent was three hours old, her fresh scent smelled much stronger than this.

Shippou frowned, where the hell had SHIELD taken her?

He strode outside the room, looking for the stairs to Fury's office in the tower.

The Director was overlooking some files, inspecting reports made by rookie agents. The door to his office swung open.

"Mr. Faukai," Fury raised an eyebrow, "What a surprise."

"Fury. Where is she?" Shippou asked, voice steely.

"Kagome? In her room, or the kitchen I presume. One of the guards escorted her there this morning." He shrugged.

"She's not there. She's not in her room, and she's not in the kitchen."

"I'll pull up the security footage." Fury muttered, opening a security tape from the kitchen to show Anthony Stark and Steve Rogers taking her out of the building.

"I assume she will be back soon, Mr. Faukai, she is with my agents." Fury acted calmly, though internally, he was livid.

"Hm." Shippou left the office hastily, sending a text to Sesshomaru.

' _Fury can't even control his own agents. They took her without permission from us, or him.'_ It read.

X

They arrived back at the tower within a few minutes, Kagome in between the two men.

Shippou was leaving the building, when he noticed three figures approaching the tower.

"Kagome!" He yelled from his car.

She whipped her head around to face him, startled. "Shippou?" She called back to him, jogging over to see him.

He wrapped his arms around her in a hug, "I thought they'd taken you somewhere else." He muttered.

"I'm staying right here, Shippou." She whispered into his neck.

"Good."

X

"I'm getting the legalities sorted out now, Kags. It'll be okay, I promise we'll get it sorted out." Shippou told her, before getting in his car.

"Thanks, Shippou." She smiled, waving him off.

"Let's go inside," Kagome turned to Steve and Tony, grabbing both of their arms and dragging them inside.

X

"Captain Rogers! Stark!" Fury yelled when the trio entered the lobby, "Just _what_ made you think you could take Miss Higurashi out without permission from me?"

"In my defence, it was all his idea." Tony pointed at Steve, in a half-assed attempt to move the blame from himself.

"Higurashi! What made you think you were allowed to leave?"

"In _my_ defence, I've been here barely a day, and there are _your_ agents." She shrugged.

Sighing, Fury moved swiftly onwards, "Tomorrow you start your training, Wanda and Clint are expected to return then, and since Wanda's and your abilities are so similar it would make sense to train you two together."

"Wanda?" Kagome asked.

"Scarlet Witch, she's about the same age as you."

Kagome nodded, 'just how many people are part of The Avengers?' She asked herself, before following Steve and Tony out of the lobby.

"I feel we should show you around more, Kagome. You've been here a day and you only know where the kitchen and your room are." Tony mused.

"This way." They took the stairs this time, and the first set ended on the floor her room was on. "This is where the Avenger's rooms are, see, that one's yours, that one's Steve's' and there's Natasha's." He pointed at three identical doors, "I assume you got stuck with the room with no windows?" He laughed.

"It feels like a prison in there," Kagome shuddered, thinking about the dull, unwelcoming room that looked more like a hotel than something that would belong to her.

Steve guided her up the next flight of stairs, "This is the training room, there's weights, treadmills and gear in here, but you'll be shown more around here tomorrow, during your training."

They went up the final flight of stairs, "There's some conference rooms, Fury has an office here, don't see _why_ he needs one here but, he has one." Tony shrugged.

"Above us there's a helipad, for when the chopper gets back." Steve pointed at the ceiling.

"There's a chopper?" Kagome looked bewildered, 'Wow, the budget for this place must be huge.' She thought.

"Clint and Wanda have it at the moment, they're in eastern Europe, but they should get back tonight or tomorrow morning." Steve explained, smiling at Kagome's expression of amazement at the technology around them.

Kagome assumed Clint was the archer, the one usually seen with Natasha. She smiled internally, 'It'll be nice to finally have some competition.' She mused.

X

"Crap!" Wanda cursed, leg gushing with blood from a large bite wound.

"We have to get back now!" Clint ran towards her, and scooped her into his arms. Carrying her bridal-style into the chopper, he set her down on one of the leather seats.

"We'll have to treat it when we get to New York," Clint quickly shut the doors of the chopper, looking out of the window.

"What the hell are those things?" He asked himself, gazing at the large animals, about the size of an elephant or bigger, with black scales and a thick, rope-like tail. They had horns on their heads and large snouts that hid barely hid their even larger teeth.

Her thick accent rung out through the chopper, "Clint, we have to go." She grunted.

Nodding, he slipped on the earphones and started the chopper blades.

X

 **A/N: How did you find that chapter? PLEASE REVIEW! They keep me motivated to write this story! Thanks to all those who reviewed last chapter, please keep reviewing. Comment suggestions for next chapter or ways I can improve my writing! I'll see if I can write another chapter and get it out at the end of the day for you guys!**


	9. Chapter 9

The Will Of The Free

 **A/N: Welcome back! Thanks to those that reviewed last time!**

The chopper landed unsteadily on the helipad atop the Avenger's Tower. The blades slowed to a halt as Clint ripped the earphones from his head and pushed his way to the back of the chopper to get Wanda, "How's the pain?" He asked, staring at the dripping wound.

Growling, she looked up at him, "How do you think?"

She gasped in pain when Clint picked her up and carried her out of the chopper. Her blood splattered on the floor, leaving red marks around the chopper, "It'll be okay, you'll be okay." He told her, though it seemed like he was more trying to convince himself.

Clint ran inside, pushing the door to the stairs to the training floor open with his shoulder. "NATASHA!" He yelled. "VISION! FURY! ANYBODY!" He screamed.

X

Kagome was in the kitchen on the floor with the rooms with Steve, both sitting comfortably at the table, when she heard the scream.

She looked to Steve, before they both dropped everything and ran for the stairs, reaching the training room level.

There, she saw a man wearing black, blood smeared all over his face and bare arms, a pale girl with long brown hair in his arms. There was a large bite mark on her leg, some blood around it dried, and some droplets of the red liquid spilling out.

The woman hissed in pain, shutting her eyes and howling.

"Steve, thank god." The mans' voice was shaky.

"Oh my god, what happened to her?" Steve looked at Wanda.

"Mission went sour- she needs urgent medical attention. She was bitten – she's loosing blood quickly."

"We don't have any on-site medics here," Steve panicked, she must have been bleeding since they took off from eastern Europe. _Hours_.

"Lie her down over there," Kagome pointed to one of the benches in the training room.

"Who are you?" Wanda snarled in her thick eastern European accent.

Clint lay her gently down on the bench, and Wanda took in a breath, shuddering in pain.

Kagome ignored her question, focusing on the girls' wound. She knelt down looking at the bite mark, the teeth marks were huge, and the mark took up most of her leg.

'A demon wound?' Kagome thought, it was plausible. If they were in America, they could easily be in Europe too.

She focused on the wound itself, and everything else seemed to fade away, instantly, she could tell there was a minute amount of poison in the girls' bloodstream, strongest at the bite mark.

Kagome took a deep breath, closing her eyes. She put her hands on the girls' leg, earning a howl of pain in response.

X

The skin under Kagome's palms started to glow a bright pink. Under the palm of her hands, Kagome could feel the skin pushing itself together, mending itself at an accelerated speed. Her hands remained on the girls leg for three minutes, before Kagome fell backward, panting, into Steve.

Captain Rogers caught her quickly, though his attention was on Wanda's leg. There was no trace of the grisly wound that was there just minutes earlier.

Wanda looked at her own leg, the colour returning to her face, "Who are you?" She asked quietly.

"Wanda, this is Kagome." Steve introduced her, before turning his attention to the girl in his arms. "Kagome? Are you alright?"

Shivering, Kagome took in a deep breath, "I'll be alright- healing is difficult, that's all."

Clint, too, turned his attention to the short blue-eyed girl in the captain's arms.

"When'd Fury pick her up?" Both himself and Wanda had been out of the loop during their mission.

"Two days ago." Kagome answered.

"I'm Clint Barton- it's a pleasure to meet you, Kagome."

"You too, Clint."

Wanda stood up slowly, still looking in wonder at her smoothly healed leg, "Thank you," She told Kagome, looking the other girl in the eyes.

"You're welcome," Kagome smiled.

X

Fury watched the security footage from the training room as it happened. Wanda's wound was extensive, and at first he was worried he would have to call for medics from another base, since there were none at the tower. When he watched Kagome put her hands on Wanda's leg and he saw the flesh join itself back together, he knew he couldn't let her leave.

'She's immensely powerful', he thought, gazing icily at the footage, 'She's too valuable to let her leave now.'

X

Kagome lay sprawled out on her bed, feeling her power regenerate quickly within her. The jewel reacted suddenly, causing Kagome to sit bolt upright in her bed.

Vision floated through the door, into Kagome's room.

She was instantly on-edge again around him.

"Thank you, Miss Higurashi, for healing Wanda." Vision told her.

Kagome was surprised, she wouldn't think Vision and Wanda were close, but there was much she didn't know about the Avengers.

"You don't need to thank me."

Vision nodded, and faded through the wall again, floating in the direction he could sense Wanda in.

X

Fury walked up to the witch that was sitting on a bench in the training room, next to Vision.

"I see Miss Higurashi healed your injury, Miss Maximoff."

"Yes, I had never seen anything like it before." Wanda told him.

"How did it feel?" Fury started pressing for answers.

"Warm- the pain stopped a few seconds after her hands touched my skin. I could feel my skin pulling itself together- but it wasn't painful, it was almost nice, it was comforting and warm." She supplied.

"Are you in any pain now, Miss Maximoff?" Fury's voice was monotonous.

"No."

"We will speak later about the success of your mission and your findings. For now, are you in condition to train?"

"I am very tired, Director, I haven't slept in over a day." Wanda sighed.

"I understand, Miss Maximoff, get some rest." Fury nodded.

X

"Captain Rogers." Fury located Steve sitting at the table in the kitchen.

"Director. Can I help you?"

"I'm looking for someone to train with Miss Higurashi. Wanda is exhausted, and Miss Higurashi is on edge around Vision. Natasha and Clint are both in the conference room, talking to Clint's family I believe, and Tony has gone back to Stark tower, for a meeting about the clean energy project."

Steve could instantly see where this was going.

"Would you train with Miss Higurashi?" Fury asked, though Steve knew there was no way to reject his offer.

"Of course, Director." Steve nodded, taking off for his room to get changed.

X

"Miss Higurashi." Fury knocked on the door to the room Kagome was staying in.

"Come in," She called, from her place sitting on the bed.

Fury entered her room, "Since Miss Maximoff is exhausted from her injuries, and mission you will be training with Captain Rogers instead."

"Is she alright?" Kagome asked.

"Miss Maximoff is merely tired." Fury waved her concerns away, and gesturing for her to stand next to him. "Training with Miss Maximoff will challenge your abilities, and training with Captain Rogers will challenge you physically."

She nodded, following the director out of 'her' room and up the stairs to the training floor, only to find Steve already there.

X

"Spar with her, find her weaknesses. I want to know anything that could physically overpower her." Fury told Steve.

Steve nodded, though internally he was uncomfortable, 'how am I supposed to fight her without hurting her?' He asked himself.

With that, Fury left the room.

"Sparring?" Kagome grinned in elation. It had been so long since she got to spar with someone, instead of purifying demons and fighting off bandits in the feudal era.

"I don't want to hurt you, okay?" He told her.

"Don't worry, Steve, I don't want to hurt you either." She giggled.

Both of them stepped into the boxing-like ring in the corner of the training room.

"Are you ready?" He asked her.

"Yes," Kagome told him.

Steve didn't know where to start, it was a lot easier to fight HYDRA agents, than it was to fight the small woman with holy powers that had been in The Avenger's Tower for all of two days.

Suddenly, Kagome lunged at him, landing a hit on his shoulder. He smiled, he could tell she was just play-fighting, even if she tried to punch him, he doubted it would hurt less she used her powers.

He swiped his leg under hers, knocking her off her feet. But before she could hit the floor, he caught her.

Kagome laughed, and broke out of his arms, punching him in the shoulder lightly.

X

 **A/N: What do you think? Did you like it? In the next few chapters I'm going to work on initiating the timeline from Civil War and integrating Kagome into missions with the rest of The Avengers. PLEASE REVIEW. They keep me motivated, please leave something to let me know there are people who enjoy the work I put out and want to see more. On another note, have any of you seen Heathers? I'm actually addicted to the soundtrack now, whOOPS.**


	10. Chapter 10

The Will Of The Free

 **A/N: Welcome back! Hope you enjoyed the last chapter!**

They moved from their half-hearted sparring match to weight lifting.

Steve was holding a heavy weight above his chest, while Kagome had to use her powers to be able to support a third of what he was holding.

Her palms were glowing underneath the cold metal, using her power to amplify her strength, "How do you _do_ this?" She breathed as she set the weight down on the ground.

"It's easy when you have super strength," he chuckled.

"Are there treadmills here?" She asked, sitting down on a bench to rest.

"No- but we can run through Brooklyn if you'd like?"

"Yeah," Kagome smiled, "I'd like that."

X

"Sir!" An agent pushed into Fury's office without knocking, and Fury frowned at the disrespect.

"Agent."

"It's urgent, Director! Our spies have indicated that in two weeks Brock Rumlow will be expected to hit the police, this is the best lead we've had on him in six months!" The agent exclaimed, quickly handing a file to the director.

"Where?"

"Lagos, Nigeria." The agent told him.

"Prepare training stimulations- I need my team to be as ready as possible for this fight." Fury told the agent.

"Yes, Director!"

X

Steve watched a determined agent speed out of the door of Fury's office, leaving the door wide open in his wake.

"Captain Roger's, Miss Higurashi." Fury called from inside the office.

"Director, I'm going to take Kagome on a run around Brooklyn."

Fury was glad he decided to at least tell him that they were leaving. "Have fun." Fury told them monotonously, looking back at his file on Brock Rumlow.

Steve closed the door to Fury's office, and looked to Kagome.

"C'mon, let's go." Kagome smiled, grabbing Steve's hand and dragging him out of the hallway, into the lobby of the tower, and then outside.

They both started off jogging, going at a comfortable pace, enjoying each others' company.

"Once they've decided you're not a threat, do you think you'll stay?" Steve asked the girl jogging at his side.

"Perhaps, I mean I'd like to visit my family eventually, I haven't seen them in a while. But I do enjoy having company, maybe I'll stick around." Kagome mused.

Steve couldn't keep the smile off his face at the thought of Kagome staying with the Avenger's indefinitely. While it was unlikely Fury would let her leave now, he was happy that her stay would be voluntary.

"Do you want me to stay?" Kagome looked up at him with her ocean-blue eyes.

"Yes." Steve answered honestly. Her presence just felt _right_.

Kagome smiled back at him, increasing her pace.

X

Wanda groaned as she heard Vision faze through her wall, "We talked about this Vis, you can't keep walking through walls."

"But your door was unlocked." Vision pointed to the door he didn't use.

Wanda sighed, "What do you need?"

"I need to inform you about Miss Higurashi."

"Kagome? The girl who healed my injuries?" Wanda asked.

"She's not who everybody thinks she is." Vision told her.

"What?"

"She has the most powerful infinity stone, the soul stone. She draws power from it easily." Vision told her.

"Fury already knows about the stone-" Wanda protested.

"Fury _doesn't_ know about what her friends are, or exactly what she is." Vision sat down, next to Wanda.

"She has powers like mine, so _what_ is she? And her friends? Who are they?"

"Her friends are business men and billionaires Sesshmomaru Tashio and Shippou Faukai. Miss Higurashi told Director Fury that her powers were due to radiation and the soul stone. I found this suspicious, and conducted research on the shikon no tama, the soul stone."

Wanda nodded, curious.

"The legend speaks of a girl named Kagome who was from a foreign land, in some accounts from the future, who broke the shikon no tama and had to put it back together. Legend states that her powers were divine, given to her by Amaterasu, goddess of the sun. The girl met demons along the way, of particular interest, I could find that she was allegedly friends with demons called: Kouga, a wolf demon, Shippou, a fox demon, Inuyasha, a half-dog demon, and Inuyasha's half brother, full dog demon, Sesshomaru."

"Vis, are you trying to say that the girl that healed my leg is a time-traveller and her friends are demons?" Wanda raised an eyebrow.

"I am the conscious manifestation of an infinity stone, you are a mutant experiment with the power to manipulate energy and telekinesis. It is plausible the actual power of the stone let her travel back in time, five hundred years, to serve Amaterasu, her goddess. And that her powers are of divine nature."

"Maybe, Vis. I don't know her well enough to say what's true and what's false with her."

X

Kagome and Steve were running up and around the blocks in Brooklyn, neither one of them tired yet.

"Ready to give up, Cap?" Her smile grew wider.

"Not yet," He grinned.

Both increased their speed, sprinting back around the block to the tower.

"Last one there has to make dinner," Kagome told him.

"You're on."

Realising Steve was beating her, Kagome channelled her powers into her legs, giving her speed a fair boost.

"No powers, Kagome!" He yelled behind him.

"That's unfair!" She whined, trying to go faster without using her powers.

Steve slowed down, nearing the entrance to the tower.

Noticing Steve's decreasing pace, Kagome increased hers, surpassing him at the last second, "I win!" She panted.

Steve watched as the short girl overtook him, her arms hitting the front door of the tower. She turned around to face him, leaning on the door, declaring her victory.

Steve smiled at her enthusiasm, and walked into the tower, Kagome at his side.

"I believe I owe you dinner, Miss Higurashi."

"I believe you do, Captain."

X

"Neither do I, Wanda. But my research on the legend of Higurashi shrine and of the shikon no tama aligns with things in her present day life. The jewel in her possession, her friends' names- I could tell they were powerful. When I looked at them, their forms were almost smudged, as if they were hiding something underneath."

"I'm not going to tell Fury, Vis. He'll make a circus out of her if he finds out she could travel back in time. It is supposedly a disproven science, after all. Besides, I owe her. She didn't have to heal me, she could have let me bleed to death.

Vision nodded, and he knew this knowledge would stay between himself and Wanda.

X

Steve looked around the kitchen, in a deep confusion. 'God, I wish I knew how to cook.' He thought.

Kagome watched him, amusement flickering across her features, "Don't know how to cook?"

Steve nodded weakly, looking apologetic.

Laughing, Kagome started looking through the cupboards.

"What would you like to eat, Steve?"

X

"The biological weapon is located in the Lagos Institute for Infectious Diseases, I expect you

to get it to me quickly, without interference." Crossbones demanded to his men.

A "Yes Sir!" was their only response before the one-hundred or so men left the room.

He turned to the intermediate between his mercenary agency and the faction that was paying them to steal the biological weapon.

Just a few days before, the intermediate had broken down and gotten weepy, before one of his higher-ups put his brain back in the blender.

"Soldier- make arrangements for the jet to be prepared. We set off for Lagos in three days."

X

Kagome located the ingredients she needed, intent on making traditional sushi. It had been weeks since she had eaten the Japanese food that she was so used to.

Steve watched the determination on her face as she prepared the sushi, smiling.

"Done!" She exclaimed, her blue eyes meeting his.

X

 **A/N: Thanks to those who reviewed last time! I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. PLEASE REVIEW. They keep me motivated and let me know there are people who enjoy my stories and want to see more. I'll probably update again in another few hours! Also, this is the 10** **th** **chapter? Woooo**


	11. Chapter 11

The Will Of The Free

 **A/N: Welcome back! Hope you enjoy this chapter!**

"What the _hell_ do you mean Kagome's been captured, Shippou?" A frantic wolf demon exclaimed, looking to Sesshomaru for answers.

"Exactly that." Sesshomaru didn't particularly care for the wolf demon.

"She was seen by Captain America using her powers. From there, SHIELD was called and now she's at the tower."

"We have to break her out!" Kouga pulled grabbed Shippou by the collar.

"Fury has the legal right to keep her." Sesshomaru's anger flared.

"We'll buy her a house in Mexico! They'll never find her there! We just need a plan!"

"Call Ayame- tell her to get her mate in order!" Shippou was struggling to get out of the grip of the wolf demon.

Sesshomaru nodded, pulling out his phone.

"Ayame! Yes! My beautiful wife! She can help us break in!"

A fierce voice shrieked through the phone, _"You're not allowed to go chasing after Kagome! She's a strong girl and you'll mess everything up! I don't trust you around her alone, Kouga!"_

The voice continued on it's rant for another few seconds before Sesshomaru hung up the phone, tired of her whining, "Now you know exactly what your mate thinks of this idea." He quipped sourly.

"I guess I'll have to go to the Tower and break her out myself!"

Sesshomaru sighed, "Kouga, we are in the middle of negotiating what rights Kagome will have. Your presence, or an attempt to make her leave the tower without permission could put Kagome's rights on the line."

"That's the most I've ever heard you talk!" Kouga hardly absorbed what Sesshomaru told him.

"I think it's time we found you a hobby, Kouga," Shippou huffed.

X

"Thanks for cooking dinner, Kagome." Steve smiled, leaning against the marble countertop in the kitchen.

"No problem, Steve." Kagome put the dishes in the sink, and looked around for a clock, "It's only seven." She muttered to herself.

"Is there a TV or something here?" She asked him.

"There's one in my room, we can watch a film?" He suggested.

"Sure, what do you have?"

"I'm not sure actually, but I know Stark downloaded a bunch of films onto it last time he was here."

"C'mon," Kagome grabbed his hand and started dragging him off in the direction of his room.

X

Barton turned to Natasha, both walking out of the conference room after speaking to Clint's family.

"What's the deal with the girl?" He asked her.

"She's almost like Wanda. She's powerful and has an infinity stone. We don't know much about her, she has some very rich friends." Natasha told Clint.

"She healed Wanda's injuries so quickly, you could see the flesh sticking itself back together on her leg- it was horrible but amazing." He sighed.

"What was the deal with the mission? Wanda almost died from blood loss." The red-head put a hand on his shoulder.

"We went back to Sokovia, near where we fought Wanda and Pietro the first time. It was overrun, with these huge beasts, just bigger than an elephant, they had black scales, a tail about a metre or so long, they had three horns, going down their snouts and the biggest teeth I'd ever seen on an animal." Clint shivered as he recounted the experience, "They were like animals you'd think would have gone extinct hundreds of thousands of years ago. They were so big, we were trying to fight them off. Wanda's powers did more damage to them than my arrows ever could. When one of them bit her leg, it tossed her around like she was nothing and threw her close enough to me that I could pick her up and run to the chopper."

"Oh my god," Natasha whispered, remembering the pictures of Wanda's wounds Fury had shown her.

"It was horrible- I already know Fury is planning either a mass capture of the beasts- or a mass killing."

The description of the creatures vaguely reminded Natasha of the 'mutated animals' Steve first found Kagome killing, 'interesting' she thought.

X

Kagome was sat next to Steve, on his sofa in his room, staring at the windows. "You get windows?" She asked.

"I assume Fury gave you the room without them, then?"

Kagome nodded, drawing her attention back to the TV. She took the remote from the coffee table in front of the sofa and turned the TV on. "Let's see what movies Tony's put on here," She smiled.

Flicking through the movies, she noted there were Disney films, like Lady and the Tramp, action films, Pirates of The Caribbean and one of the Star Wars films. Aside from those films, there were White Chicks, Fight Club and most of the James Bond films.

"What do you want to watch?" She turned to the man next to her.

"If I'm honest I don't know any of these films," He sighed.

"Lady and the Tramp it is!" Kagome grinned.

X

One hour and sixteen minutes later, Kagome was fast asleep, head resting on Steve's shoulder. He smiled, turning the TV off, and soon fell asleep too.

X

"Find me Miss Higurashi." Fury ordered one of the agents that had come into his office to deliver yet another file on Brock Rumlow.

"Yes, sir." The agent responded, scampering out of the room, only to return ten minutes later, alone.

"I thought I asked you to bring Miss Higurashi to me." Fury quipped.

"She's not in her room, sir. Or the training room. Or the kitchen." The agent squeaked.

"Check every single room in this damned tower, I want her brought to me, _now_."

"Yes, sir!"

The agent once again left the room quickly, checking the lobby, janitor's closets, conference rooms, and lastly she came to a stop before the Avenger's quarters.

She knocked on the first door, Wanda's room. "Excuse me, Miss Maximoff, is Miss Higurashi in there?" She yelled.

"No – it is just Vis and I." Wanda shouted back, looking to Vision, who was sitting on a chair opposite her, "I wonder what she wanted with Kagome," She muttered.

The agent moved onwards, to the next room. She was about to knock on the door to Natasha Romanoff's room, when she saw Natasha and Clint walking down the hall, "I assume Miss Higurashi isn't in either of your rooms?"

"No." They responded at the same time, sharing a knowing look. 'Has she escaped?' they thought in unison.

The agent sighed and moved onwards to double check Kagome's room, only to find that empty too.

Next, she went to Captain Rogers' room, "Captain? Is Miss Higurashi in there with you?" Upon getting no response, she barged into the room, walking around. "Captain?" She then spotted him laying on the sofa with the girl she was looking for, both asleep.

She had heard from other agents about the girl's powers being so strong she could kill things within seconds, and of course, the story of her saving Scarlet Witch.

Now, the girl looked so peaceful and at ease, the agent was too scared to wake her, 'what would happen if she got mad at me? Oh hell no, Fury can wake her up his damn self!' She thought, leaving the room quickly and darting down to Fury's office.

"Didn't I tell you to bring me Miss Higurashi?" He raised an eyebrow at her.

"Yes Director-"

"So why have you failed to do so, _twice_?"

"Sorry, Director. Miss Higurashi is asleep-"

"I thought you said she wasn't in her room, agent?"

"She's asleep in Captain Roger's room, they're both on the couch- I didn't want to wake them up-"

"It can wait until later, agent. Dismissed." He waved the woman out of his office, rubbing his chin thoughtfully.

If an attachment formed between Kagome and Steve, she would _have_ to stay with the Avengers. Fury almost smirked, 'It'll do no harm to encourage a relationship between the two,' he thought.

X

"Kouga!" Shippou groaned, "I'm telling you that you can't break into the tower!"

"You can't stop me! My woman needs me!" He puffed up his chest in pride.

"My mom isn't your woman! You have a wife!

"Shhhh! Kagome needs me! Who knows what could be happening in that tower!" Kouga pushed his finger against Shippou's lips to silence him, to which Shippou bit his finger.

"Ouch! Not cool! I'm trying to save my woman!"

"No, you're not! Leave my mom alone and come talk to your wife!" Shippou protested.

It was now late in the evening and the two had been squabbling about whether or not Kouga should go and 'save' Kagome.

"Besides! She was fine this morning!" Shippou exclaimed.

"You went to see my woman without me?" Kouga howled.

" _I'm_ your woman, Kouga!" A female voice grunted, entering the office.

"Ayame! My lovely wife," Kouga cowered in fear of the red-headed woman.

"Save it!" She snapped, "If we're going to save the priestess we're going to do it _my_ way!"

"That's my woman!" Kouga wrapped an arm around her.

"She doesn't need saving!" Shippou sighed.

X

 **A/N: How did you like this chapter? Thank you to all who reviewed last time! PLEASE REVIEW! They keep me motivated! Also, some time in the next few days I'm going to watch Black Panther, it'll probably give me some fresher ideas! PLEASE REVIEW!**


	12. Chapter 12

The Will Of The Free

 **A/N: Welcome back! Hope you enjoyed the last chapter!**

By the time Steve woke up, it was morning. Lying next to him, on the couch was Kagome. Steve got up slowly, cheeks flushed.

Kagome yawned and spread out on the couch. Steve's lips twitched upwards as he watched her sleep peacefully.

A light knock on the door drew his attention, and he walked quickly to the door to answer it.

"Director." He greeted.

"Good morning, Captain Rogers. I take it that Miss Higurashi is still asleep?" He raised an eyebrow.

Steve nodded, "Yeah, she is."

"I have received news that in under two weeks, Brock Rumlow will be making a strike on the police in Lagos, Nigeria. I want you and the others to train and prepare Kagome properly, she's going to be coming with you."

"You're putting her on a mission so soon?" Steve frowned.

"I assure you, that if you prepare her thoroughly, she will be more than capable of helping you on mission. I'm going to start her training with Wanda and Vision. They all have similar abilities and will be able to learn from and teach each other."

"Those men- the business men that she's friends with, they won't agree to this." Steve sighed.

"They won't get a choice, Captain. Legally, I am in charge of Miss Higurashi- though their lawyers are putting up a very strong fight against that." Fury grunted.

"I understand, do you want me to tell her?"

"Yes, Captain Rogers." Fury walked away, leaving Steve to shut the door.

X

"I've pulled up the schematics of the tower." Ayame handed her husband a tablet, with the floorplans of the tower on its' screen.

"You two _do_ know you can just visit her, right?" Shippou said, placing his head in his hands.

"Infiltration!" Kouga exclaimed, "That could work!"

"You know what- I'll take Kouga there, Ayame. I'll make sure he doesn't touch her." The fox demon sighed.

"Well, if you're sure she's not in danger-" Ayame started. She had grown quite fond of the priestess, after her initial distaste. She found Kagome nice and relaxing to be around, she just found herself getting jealous whenever her husband was around Kagome.

"I'm _sure_ Ayame, she was perfectly fine yesterday. Get some rest." Shippou practically shoved the female demon out of the Tashio Corps building.

"Come on, I want to make sure she's okay too." Shippou started walking to his car, the wolf demon at his side.

"You still call her 'mom' after all these years. I mean, now you're technically older than her." Kouga mused.

"She raised me- she was the one that found me, and she and Inuyasha killed the Thunder Brothers, she took me in despite me stealing her jewel shards." Shippou reminisced, remembering the first time he met the woman he now calls 'mother'.

"She's amazing," Kouga agreed, "I've never met anyone quite like her."

"Even Kikyo, her predecessor, couldn't compare to her. Mom's just so full of love and light, I doubt anybody could ever replace her." Shippou unlocked his car and stepped into the drivers' side seat.

"Let's go see my woman," Kouga breathed.

"Stop calling my mom your woman! It's creepy," Shippou shuddered.

X

Kagome awoke slowly, the light from the window hitting her face. And _that's_ when she remembered she wasn't in her room. She didn't have any windows.

She sat up groggily, identifying the room as belonging to Steve, the memories of their 'movie night' coming back to her.

"You're awake," Steve rested his arms over the back of the couch.

"What time is it?" She yawned.

"About eight thirty." He told her.

"How about we get breakfast?" Kagome smiled.

X

Kouga leaped out of the door of Shippou's car, practically running up to the door of the tower. Shippou sighed and caught up with him, both entering the building together.

The lady at the desk in the lobby looked up at them, "Yes?"

"We're here to see Kagome." Sippou told her, and without waiting for a reply, both were going up the stairs.

"I haven't seen her in ages, is she doing alright?" Kouga whispered.

"She's been taken here, her apartment's been broken into, but she's resilient. She's okay," Shippou told him.

"Her apartment?"

"When SHIELD first took her, they told her and some agents to go back to her apartment, the place was completely trashed, they were looking for something. We receive the files from them tonight, we can take a look at them later." He explained.

Kouga nodded, and continued up the satirs with Shippou at his side.

"This is the floor," Shippou told him, "She'll probably be in the kitchen, she doesn't trust SHIELD to give her food."

"I don't blame her." Kouga kept walking on, before seeing a room with a refrigerator and marble countertops.

X

"Are pancakes alright for breakfast?" Kagome asked, kneeling on a countertop to reach the pancake batter within the cupboard above it.

"Yeah." Steve nodded.

"Got it!" Kagome exclaimed, climbing down from the countertop, batter in hand.

She heard footsteps speeding towards the kitchen, and felt their auras.

"Shippou? Kouga?" She called out into the hallway.

Two men wearing suits strode quickly into the room, one of them Steve recognised as Shippou Faukai, but he didn't know the other.

The man with the long black hair that was pulled back into a ponytail brought Kagome into a hug, "My woman!" He exclaimed.

Steve didn't _know_ why it made him see red when the unfamiliar man proclaimed Kagome belonged to him, he only knew it made him livid.

"I'm not your woman!" Came Kagome's muffled cry from inside the man's arms.

Shippou twitched his nose. Anger, belonging to the blond human practically flooded the room when Kouga called Kagome his woman.

Amusement flickered through his eyes, sensing the anger die down slightly when Kagome objected, 'interesting,' he thought, 'very interesting.'

Kouga let her go slowly, "How are you?"

"I'm _fine_ Kouga. How's Ayame?"

Shippou answered for him. "His wife is _just_ as crazy as him. The both of them were threatening to break into the tower and rescue you."

Kagome smiled, "She should come visit soon."

"Yeah, she hasn't seen you in ages." Kouga nodded.

Shippou elbowed Kouga in the ribs, looking at Steve.

"Oh! I'm Kouga Oohali, nice to meet you, Captain!" Kouga instantly recognised the face of Captain America.

"Nice to meet you too, Mr. Oohali."

"So, Kagome. I'll try to see if we can arrange a visit for your family. It'll take a while-" Shippou started.

"I don't care how long it takes, I just want to see them again." Kagome interrupted.

"I know, Kags."

"How's Rin?" She asked, bringing up the topic of Sesshomaru's ward, and Shippou's wife.

"She's fine! Lord Fluffikins has decided that we're all going to come see you one day, it'll be like the old gang's back together." He smiled.

"That'd be nice, Shipp." She put a hand on his shoulder, "Any news on my apartment?"

"We're getting the full file available tonight, I'll come over and show you what we've determined in the next few days."

"Thanks, it means a lot." Kagome whispered.

"Kouga and I will be leaving shortly, we have to go to Karikazi Incorporated to collect our files." Shippou told her.

"I understand, tell Ayame and Rin I said hi for me?" Kagome withdrew her hand from Shippou's shoulder slowly.

"Sure. See ya." Shippou waved himself out, followed by Kouga.

She turned to Steve, "You still want pancakes?" She waved the batter box at him.

"Yeah," He smiled.

X

Half an hour later and both had eaten their fair share of pancakes.

Steve sighed, "Fury wanted me to tell you something."

"Good or bad?" Kagome furrowed her eyebrows.

"Not really sure, depends on what you think of it. This ex-SHIELD turned HYDRA agent, Brock Rumlow, is planning an attack on the police, in Lagos, Nigeria. We have two weeks before the attack starts, but Fury wants you to join the Avenger's in mission." Steve explained.

"What? Isn't that dangerous for him? I could just escape?"

"He has full confidence you won't, and probably wants to test your powers in a battle scenario."

"I suppose I don't get much choice, I'm legally bound to do whatever he tells me." Kagome looked down at her hands.

"It'll be fine, we've been chasing this guy for months, we know all his tricks." Steve put a hand on her shoulder in reassurance, and Kagome's eyes met his.

"Okay, Steve. I trust you." She smiled lightly.

X

A sharp knock drew Wanda's attention from the show on the screen of her TV.

"Yes?" She called.

The door flew open, Director Fury entering the room, "Miss Maximoff, do you feel well enough to train? There's a mission you will all need briefing on and training for."

Wanda nodded, "Do you want me to train with Kagome, like you said yesterday?"

"Yes, a training session between the two of you will help me better evaluate her abilities and she can help you develop yours."

"How long?"

"Meet her in the gym in two hours, that should give you both ample time to rest." And with that, Fury left the room.

He needed to fully evaluate where her fighting skills were up to- her 'sparring match' with Captain Rogers was a complete failure, they both messed around instead of pushing each others' limits.

He strode off to locate Kagome.

X

Fury found her in the kitchen, with Steve, "Miss Higurashi." He called for her attention.

"Director." She greeted.

"I expect you to attend a training session with Miss Maximoff in two hours. Both yourself and Miss Maximoff require someone to challenge and stimulate your abilities." Fury informed her, giving her no room to argue.

"Yes, Director. Do my friends know about the mission you're planning to send me on?" Kagome asked.

"As of now, no. They will be informed later, when preparations for the mission are fully underway."

Kagome was about to ask another question, when Fury dismissed her with a wave and walked out of the room.

"Rude, much." She muttered under her breath.

X

 **A/N: Wooo! I'm going to see Black Panther today! I'm so excited wow. Anyway, what did you think of this chapter? PLEASE REVIEW! They help keep me motivated and inspired to write, literally anything will do! PLEASE REVIEW!**


	13. Chapter 13

The Will Of The Free

 **A/N: Welcome back! Hope you enjoyed the last chapter!**

Kagome went back to her room, to change into training gear, leaving Steve alone in the kitchen.

Shortly after she left, Natasha entered the kitchen, looking for Steve, "There you are," She grinned.

"Do you need something?"

"You and Higurashi. What's going on?" She folded her arms over her chest.

Steve sighed, "What do you mean?"

"You know exactly what I mean, Steve. I see it. What's going on between you and Higurashi?" Natasha raised a dark red eyebrow.

"Nothing," Steve told her.

"I don't believe that," She strode out of the room, headed towards the stairs.

X

Kagome pulled the zip up as high as it could go, 'Who the hell keeps putting these low-cut jumpsuits in my wardrobe?' she thought.

She slipped on the high-heeled boots that were left at the bottom of the wardrobe, 'How the hell can I fight in these?'

Slowly, she walked to the door of 'her' room, and up the stairs to the training room.

X

"Clint," Natasha kicked the man in the shin.

"I'm awake! I'm awake!" He groaned from the couch in his room.

"Higurashi and Maximoff are training together. You wanted to see what she can do, now's your time." Her voice was less cold than usual when addressing her partner.

"You going to watch with me?" He stood up, stretching his arms.

"I haven't seen her fight before, it would be good to know what to expect from her."

"I heard Fury's bringing her on a mission with us? That true?" Hawkeye pulled the boots that were resting by the side of the couch onto his feet.

"Yes. She's going to join us in Lagos against Brock Rumlow and his mercenaries when they make the strike on the police." Natasha nodded.

"I see," Clint opened the door and strode out, Natasha at his side.

The two walked to the training room together, and went into the observational room at the end of the training room.

It was a small room, with four chairs inside, lined up by the one-way window. When SHIELD took people in, they had them spar with somebody else. Agents would watch from the observational room, where the people in the training room couldn't see them through the glass and analyse their fighting style.

They took seats in the middle of the window, looking intently at the training room.

X

Kagome arrived in the training room first, looking around for anybody else. It was just her in the modern training room, though she could sense many auras around her in the tower.

Wanda arrived shortly afterwards, wearing a black shirt, black shorts, red leather jacket and knee-high heels that clicked against the floor whenever she took a step.

"Hey," Kagome smiled.

"Ready to begin, Kagome?" Wanda returned the smile with one of her own.

Kagome nodded, "Just our abilities for now?"

Red energy danced in the brunette's eyes, "For now."

The two were in the centre of the training room, standing opposite one another, on a pale blue training mat that spanned the majority of the room.

Wanda held her palms out, bringing them up higher. She grinned and red energy flooded the air above her palms.

Kagome shifted her stance as she watched Wanda's display of power. She felt the aura of the girl opposite heighten, and become clearer as the energy twisted and turned around in the air.

The jewel pulsed, feeling the sheer amount of power so close to it. Kagome took a deep breath and a pink light lit up the entirety of her hands, "Ready?" She asked.

"Ready." The other girl confirmed.

Wanda was the first to strike, running forwards, her speed fuelled by her powers. She launched the energy from her palms directly at Kagome.

She quickly put up a glowing pink barrier- bright light leapt out of her hands and into a protective circle around her.

As soon as Wanda's energy dissipated Kagome let her barrier down, the pink dome fading out of existence.

Red energy crackled around Wanda's knuckles, and she pushed a wall of the energy at Kagome.

Kagome pushed her hands in the air, stopping the energy before it could reach her by sending out her own energy.

Their red and pink power danced in the air, crashing about like waves before a tsunami, in between the women.

The energy flew between the girls, floating and twirling elegantly in the air around them before it disappeared all together.

Wanda took in a deep breath before another wall of energy appeared behind her. She was preparing to push it forwards, an attack identical to the first, when a dome of pink energy trapped the wall.

Wanda turned around, her back now to her sparring partner to look at the pink dome and the energy she produced writing inside it.

Wanda dropped her energy, and Kagome dropped her barrier when she realised that there was nothing inside it.

"Draw?" Came Wanda's thick eastern European accent.

"Draw." Kagome confirmed, shaking the brunette's hand.

X

"Sir!" An agent exclaimed from his laptop. Fury was in the security room of the tower, observing the fight.

"The energy level in the training room is nearing deadly," One of the agents exclaimed.

Fury ignored both of them, instead focusing on the fight he could see from security footage.

Red and pink energy battled for dominance, before both forces vanished, only for the red energy to reappear behind Wanda. The pink energy then trapped the red, and both vanished again, though this time neither reappeared.

Fury watched as they shook hands and moved onwards to another area of the gym.

X

"Weapons practice?" Wanda asked, prying open the chest full of weapons.

Kagome nodded, pulling out a bow from underneath some daggers.

Wanda grabbed the daggers, and her energy danced around the blades, "No arrows?" She raised an eyebrow.

"You'll see." Kagome replied, running a hand through her hair.

The two made their way back to the mat, standing opposite each other once more.

"Ready?" Kagome asked the brunette.

"Of course," The daggers in Wanda's hands once again were enveloped in red energy, power swirling around them.

Again, Wanda made the first move in the match. She lunged forwards, dagger aiming for Kagome's shoulder.

The raven-haired girl dodged the dagger quickly, though it lightly grazed her shoulder as she dived towards the floor. She grinned as she stood up, drawing her bow back.

"No arrows!" Wanda reminded her, laughing slightly.

"I brought my own." Kagome told her, chuckling.

An arrow, a pale pink appeared in the place of a regular arrow in the bow.

"Hit the mark." She whispered under her breath, releasing the arrow.

Wanda pushed her energy out at the last second, before the tip of the light-arrow could fully penetrate her shoulder, though it did leave a small cut.

Kagome let go of her hold of the energy and the arrow disappeared.

X

"What the hell?" Hawkeye watched the scene from the observational room.

"The arrows are a manifestation of her-" Natasha was about to explain.

"She's holding it strangely and leaving the entire of her left side too open to attack!"

The redhead sighed and sunk back in her chair, ignoring Barton's rambling.

"Can she control her arrows? She should be able to use them to-"

"I get it," Natasha cut him off, a small smile on her lips, " _you're_ the archer."

X

Wanda pushed more of her energy into the daggers, they now had a red tint to them. She hurled one at the girl opposite her, but Kagome quickly threw up a barrier to stop the dagger from hitting her.

The dagger hit the floor, and Wanda used her powers to draw the weapon back to her hand.

She tried again, this time throwing both towards Kagome's head.

Kagome ducked the first, though the hilt of the second hit her in the cheek.

In response to the attack, Kagome drew her bow back, this time three arrows of light appeared in the bow.

She let the arrows fly at Wanda.

Twisting her body, Wanda caught the arrows with her magic and trying to hold them.

Realising her opponent was distracted, Kagome conjured another arrow of light and released it.

The arrow hit Wanda in the shoulder, creating a wound from the arrow.

Kagome waved her hand and the arrow was gone, leaving behind a mark in Wanda's collar.

Quickly, Wanda drew her daggers back to her hands, and let her powers fill the weapons with a red light.

Both were panting from trying to keep up with somebody with similar powers to them.

"Let's stop," Kagome struggled to breathe.

"Agreed." Wanda muttered, dropping her daggers to the ground, her energy returning to her body in two streams from the blades of the weapons.

Kagome put her bow back into the chest and turned to her sparring partner, "Want to get some food?"

Wanda nodded, "We can get food delivered to the tower. What do you want?"

"Shawarma?" Kagome recalled the restaurant she went to with Tony and Steve.

The brunette nodded again, walking off to the kitchen, where her phone was, Kagome walking slightly behind her.

X

Kagome took in the form of the girl in front of her.

'She doesn't look like she has some of the strongest powers I've ever seen'. She thought, 'then again, I don't suppose I do either.'

X

Tony entered the tower, noting there were less agents than last time in the building. Ignoring the receptionist, he strode up the stairs, headed for Steve's room.

"Capsickle?" He called, "You in there?" he pushed open the door without regard for the man's privacy.

There, he found Steve watching a black-and-white television show, one of many that Tony had downloaded onto the TV.

"There you are, Cap. I was worried you'd decided to take another 70-year-long nap." The billionaire told him.

"Steve! Steve? You haven't gotten brain-freeze again, have you?" Tony waved his hand in front of Steve's face.

"No, Tony, I'm not frozen." He sighed.

"Guess what?" Tony sat down on the couch next to him. "You know what- I'll just tell you, since you're not up for guessing. Kagome and Wanda are sparring in the training room. JARVIS hacked the security system ages ago- and we still have the information from the tower available. The level of energy there was nearing a level where it could have destroyed the building!"

Steve raised an eyebrow, "Kagome told me that she was going to spar with Wanda."

"They could have levelled the building! It's cool but reckless. I like that." Tony took off his sunglasses and put them in the couch.

"What do you want, Tony?"

"I want to start monitoring Kagome-" Tony began.

"No, Tony." Steve told him firmly.

"Hear me out. She's as powerful as Wanda, if not more so. If I can monitor her I can get a better gauge of her power." Tony told him.

"Why are you coming to me with this? It's Kagome's decision whether or not she allows you to monitor her."

"Well," Tony clicked his knuckles, "She seems to be closest to you, and I thought that if she heard it from you she'd, you know, agree." He shrugged.

"You can't use me as a tool to get what you want from her." Steve told him stonily.

"I see how it is." Tony grabbed his sunglasses and put them on.

"Tony." Steve sighed, watching his friend leave the room.

X

Kagome walked towards the kitchen, slightly behind Wanda, when the girl turned around. "Could you go ask the other's what they would like?" She asked.

Kagome nodded, "Sure."

Kagome went sought out the agents, Natasha and Clint, first. She felt their auras in the training room, though she couldn't recall seeing them. Walking back up the stairs to the training room, she spotted a door that was behind a blacked out pane of glass.

Inside the room, she could feel their auras. She knocked on the door before entering, "Do you two want anything from Shawarma?"

"How'd you find us?" Natasha asked, frowning and completely ignoring Kagome's question.

Kagome shrugged, "I can sense where you are. Do you two want anything from Shawarma?" She asked again.

"I'll have a large pespsi, and a mixed meat shawarma, she'll have the same." Clint answered for both of them.

She stepped out of the room and into the training room, and walked down the stairs to the floor where the bedrooms are.

Next, she reached out for the other auras nearby. She felt Tony's at the bottom of the tower, leaving the building. Vision's was in a room downstairs, but since he was the conscious manifestation of an infinity stone, Kagome supposed he didn't need to eat.

She next felt Steve's aura and turned to look for him.

X

 **A/N: So since the last chapter or so, I've had a couple questions: Yes, this story takes place between Age of Ultron and Civil War. And, yeah I guess Kagome could have been more resistant, but she's made friends with her kidnappers in the past: Kouga in episode 38 and Choyukai in episode 129 were the two I could think of. I've been watching the avengers films and the inuyasha movies to help myself bring the character a little more into character. Thanks for reading to those of you who enjoy my stories! Let me know if there's anything else I can improve on! PLEASE REVIEW IT HELPS KEEP ME MOTIVATED!**


	14. Chapter 14

The Will Of The Free

 **A/N: Hey! Welcome back guys! From the last chapter onwards I'll be trying to put the characters more 'in-character'. Thanks for reading!**

She knocked lightly on Steve's door, before entering.

"Steve?" She called.

He was sitting on the couch in his room, staring blankly out of the window. Kagome walked towards him and gently placed a hand on his shoulder, "You okay?"

Steve nodded, and turned to look at her.

"Do you want anything from shawarma?" She asked.

"No thank you, I'm not hungry." He shook his head in response to the question.

"If you're sure, then." Kagome left, glancing back at Steve before she left.

X

"Pepper- have the paper work done to transport the equipment in lab three to my lab in the tower." Tony pointed to the lab he was talking about.

"Why? What's going on, Tony?" She frowned.

"Oh, just the usual. Some run of the mill experiments to conduct." He shrugged, shoving his hands into the pockets of his suit.

"If it was normal you wouldn't be having an entire lab transported to the tower." Pepper raised an eyebrow.

Tony sighed, "Alright. There's a new girl there that Fury's keepin' around. I want to start monitoring her."

"I'll have the equipment moved tonight and the paperwork passed on to Fury for the morning." Pepper turned on her heel, clipboard in hand, towards one of the movers.

X

Kagome walked to the kitchen, reaching out for Wanda's aura and finding it there.

"What does everyone want?" Wanda asked before she dialled Shawarma.

"Clint and Natasha want large pepsis, and mixed meat shawarma's- I'll have the same and Steve's not eating."

Wanda nodded and made the order over the phone, "Where are you from?" She asked in her thick accent.

"Tokyo, in Japan. You?" Kagome leant on the marble countertop.

"Slovakia, I think I was born there. HYDRA experimented on there." Wanda explained.

Sympathy flooded through Kagome's blue eyes, "I'm sorry,"

Wanda shook her head slightly, "Don't be. It let me become the person I am today, despite it having a cost."

Kagome nodded, reminiscing about a time when there was a great cost to obtain a jewel so little. She lost so much, everybody lost so much for a jewel that just wouldn't disappear.

X

Shippou reviewed the security footage they had received in a file from SHIELD. It showed a hooded man bringing what appeared to be a large dog and kicking in the door to Kagome's apartment. The door swung shut after them and they didn't leave the room for half an hour.

They came out, and the face of the intruder was visible.

"Enhance." Shippou ordered, and the face of what they thought was a man became clearer.

"What the hell? He's purple!" Kouga exclaimed.

The two shared a look, the majority of non-humanoid demons was low in America, particularly those that stood out that could not pass as human nor animal. The numbers of animal-esque demons were increasing rapidly, as were the attacks from them.

The creature had a slightly humanoid figure, though it had a purple skin tone and its' face was horribly disfigured. There was a gold-chained mouth guard over the mouth of the creature and the skin around its' face was wrinkled, and no facial features were visible.

"I'm beginning to suspect that's no normal dog." Shippou grunted, and the screen flickered to the animal.

The creature was on a golden leash that was secured tightly in the humanoid creatures clawed hand. The animal was almost armadillo-like in that it had scales reminiscent of armour covering its body. The head of animal was covered in spines, and the colour of the creature was steely.

Protruding from its metal-like snout were a set of long, metallic teeth that looked more like knives than teeth.

"That looks to me like a mixed demon, or at least one that's not from Japan." Kouga analysed.

"But what was the first one?" Shippou muttered.

"I've never seen anything like it." The wolf demon told him.

Shippou flicked back to the enhanced image of the face of the humanoid figure.

"It looks like a purple toe." He snickered.

X

Kagome finished the last of her mixed meat shawarma and put the plate in the sink. She turned back to talk again to Wanda when an agent entered the room.

"Miss Higurashi- the Director wants to speak with you."

Kagome nodded and followed the agent out of the room, absently wondering if they actually had the legal right to bring her on the mission to Lagos.

They arrived at the office, and Kagome entered the room without knocking.

"Miss Higurashi." Fury greeted, "Take a seat."

Kagome sat down opposite him slowly, looking the man in the eye.

"I assume you have already been informed about the Lagos mission taking place in two weeks?"

Kagome nodded, "Steve gave me a brief."

"Yourself and the rest of the team will be sent to Lagos in two weeks." Fury threw a file to her. "That, is Brock Rumlow. Codename: Crossbones. He's an ex-SHIELD agent turned mercenary. We've been after him for months and this is our first real lead on his whereabouts. It is expected that him and the mercenaries he is in charge of are going to make an organised strike on the police, funded by another organisation."

"And you want me to leave? You want me to go with The Avengers?" Kagome asked.

"Yes, Miss Higurashi."

"Why? I can easily escape at any time, I would be in a foreign country."

"I believe you are a valuable asset to the team, and I deduce that together, if needed, Miss Maximoff and Vision could subdue you."

Then she felt it, burned into his soul was a deep hunger for power and control, "Do you have the legal _right_ to send me there?"

"SHIELD has been granted the legal right by the government to be able to detain any with superhuman abilities on American soil. In the third subsection of this agreement, SHIELD has the legal authority to send you to other countries if we see fit, though we cannot force you to fight."

Kagome nodded, Fury said they couldn't force her to fight but she was _damn_ sure he'd find a way.

"Your spar with Miss Maximoff was impressive, Miss Higurashi. I expect the training sessions to continue."

"How long are you planning on keeping me here?" She asked the question that had been weighing on her mind.

Fury dodged the question, "Depending on your performance during the Lagos mission you will be allowed visitation with your family."

Kagome noticed and clenched her jaw tightly, "Thank you, Director." She told him, tensely.

X

She left the room after being dismissed with a wave from the Director, livid that he didn't answer her question.

Absent-mindedly she wandered back up the stairs to her prison of a room, before stopping.

A loud crash brought her out of her zombie-like trance.

"What's that noise?" She asked aloud, turning to face the empty hallway.

X

Steve heard a large crash, and immediately rose from the couch. He heard a whisper from the hallway and got up to see what it was.

"Kagome?" He spotted the small form of the woman outside her room.

"Did you hear that?" She asked him, looking around in confusion.

Steve nodded, "It sounded like it came from by the elevators."

"There are elevators here?" Kagome asked.

Steve nodded again, "They're not generally used by anybody unless things are being moved into the tower."

X

The mover cursed underneath his breath as he dropped an empty glass beaker. Huffing, he moved swiftly onwards and kept pushing the equipment out of the elevator.

Kagome and Steve walked down the hall side-by-side, nearing the elevator.

"Excuse me, Captain America, Miss?" The mover called out to them.

Kagome smiled at him, "Can I help?"

"Do you know where Mr. Starks lab is? We're bringing testing equipment across." The mover explained.

"Tony's got a lab here?" Kagome turned to Steve.

Steve nodded, "Just down the hall to the right, Sir."

"Thank you, Captain." The mover wheeled the equipment down the hall and turned right, following his directions.

"Doesn't Tony have all the equipment he needs at Stark tower?"

Steve was instantly reminded of Tony's desire to monitor Kagome, and he sighed.

X

 **A/N: Hey! PLEASE REVIEW if you enjoyed this chapter, they help keep me motivated and let me know what I can improve on! PLEASE REVIEW!**


	15. Chapter 15

The Will Of The Free

 **A/N: Welcome back! Hope you enjoy this chapter!**

"I guess we'll find out what Tony needs the equipment for in the morning." Kagome yawned, "As for now, I'm going to sleep."

Steve walked her back to her room, "Goodnight, Kagome."

"Night," She waved before practically jumping into the bed in the room.

X

"Tony, your paperwork has been completed and sent to Fury. Your equipment is in your lab at the tower and the movers' connected everything for you."

Tony nodded, and turned to the wall with a screen on it. "JARVIS. Can I get a background check on Kagome Higurashi?"

"Yes, Sir. No criminal records, average grades throughout school until her later years in high school. Her father was killed in a car accident shortly before her 15th birthday, and on her 15th birthday a missing persons' report was filed for her, though she was located two days later. From then onwards there were many absences attributed to sickness. At 17, she started making frequent trips to America with business man Shippou Fukai, and moved at age 18."

"Who's she?" Pepper asked, looking at the photo of the blue-eyed Asian girl that was on the screen.

"Fury's new toy." Tony told her, taking the photo off the screen, "Which reminds me- actually, I should probably go and check none of my equipment was damaged during the transfer."

"Are you sure, Tony? It's pretty early."

"Yeah, I'll probably be spending all day there. See you tonight, Pep."

X

Kagome awoke slowly, stretching her arms to ease their aching. She sat up in bed, looking for a way to discern what time it was, but it was difficult to tell when your room had neither a clock nor any windows.

She remembered the clothes Tony had bought for her when they went shopping, and for the first time since, sifted through them.

First, she found the little silver dress and put it on a hanger in her wardrobe.

Also in the bag were several 'skirts' that could barely pass as belts. "Man, these are even shorter than the one I had to wear for school!" She exclaimed.

There were some shirts, mostly too short, but a few she liked. Pulling out a plain black shirt and a pair of leggings she threw them on and put the same black heeled boots on as she did the day before, for her training with Wanda.

"That doesn't look too bad." She told herself before stepping outside her room and into the hallway.

Her stomach rumbled as she closed the door behind her. Realising she needed to eat, Kagome headed towards the kitchen, her heels clicking against the floor of the hallway.

X

Tony entered the building, again ignoring the receptionist as he strolled up the stairs. He looked up and down the hall, finding nobody, and entered his lab.

"God," Tony noticed several pieces of equipment wired wrongly to the electricity and three broken glass beakers. "Who installed this- I mean, come _on_ ," He muttered as he rewired the bottom of a monitor into another machine.

He stood up and dusted off his suit-pants. Tony turned back after inspecting the damage and walked out into the hallway again.

He heard heels clicking down the hallway, presumably towards the kitchen. When he was able to see who was walking down the hallway, Tony instantly recognised her.

"Kagome!" He called out to her.

X

Steve had been awake for hours, before he heard the tap of heels against the floor of the hallway. Then, he heard a voice that sounded suspiciously like Tony call out Kagome's name.

He got up from the couch in his room, and made his way into the hallway.

X

"Hey, Tony." Kagome greeted.

He was about to reply when he watched Steve come out of his room. "Capsickle. Great." He muttered.

"Morning." Steve joined Kagome and Tony, all standing in the middle of the hallway.

"You know what, Kagome? How about we go to my lab, and check it out, run a few tests?" Tony suggested, raising his hands in the air.

Before Kagome could answer, Steve interrupted, "This better not be what I think this is

Tony."

"Let's go to my lab." Tony ignored the captain, and pointed towards a glass door to the left of the end of the hallway.

"What're you talking about?" She asked Steve.

"Let's go to my lab and we can talk about it-" Tony interjected.

"You tell her, Tony. Tell her what you want to do." Steve clenched his jaw.

"We can talk about it in my lab, capsickle."

"We can go to your lab if when we get there you tell me what the hell Steve's talking about." Kagome crossed her arms over her chest.

"That's," Tony paused, "agreeable."

"Let's go then." Kagome grabbed both of their hands and dragged them towards the door.

As soon as all three were inside, she stood by the door, blocking their exit and put her hands on her hips.

"Tell me what's going on right now, both of you." She demanded.

"Well, you see, Kagome. I was wondering if perhaps you would allow me to use my equipment to measure and challenge your abilities, is all." Tony shrugged, leaning on a piece of his machinery.

"When I came here, Fury said no experiments." Kagome frowned.

"Stark Industries is completely separate from any promise uncle eye-patch has made you. I can assure that any experiments we do will be relatively safe." Tony told her.

"Knock it off, Tony. No experiments." She told him, a fierceness in her voice.

"I was only proposing we do some minor radiation experiments-" Tony stood up.

"I'm not an experiment, okay?" Kagome practically yelled at him.

"So the kitten has claws, huh?" Tony smirked.

"Yes, she does. And if you're not careful you'll get scratched." She turned on her heel and walked out of the door, fists clenched at her sides.

X

"I told you it was a bad idea, she's just mad at you now." Steve told him.

"Thank you, Captain Obvious." Tony rolled his eyes.

"It's not my fault she doesn't want to be turned into another one of your science experiments." Steve folded his arms over his chest, looking Tony in the eye.

"No, it's not- but what I'm _saying_ is that you could have helped persuade her to at least let me take a blood sample and test her for the amounts of radiation deposited in her blood stream." Tony stood fully upright, no longer leaning on his equipment.

"She's not an experiment, she's a human being, Tony." Steve said in a stern tone.

"She's capable of god knows what. Monitoring her is a key aspect of understanding her." Tony was equally as stern, meeting Steve's glare with one of his own.

"She'll let you understand if she wants." The captain declared, before walking out of the room, leaving Tony alone, in his lab.

X

Kagome sat on the end of her bed, fuming.

'How dare he think he can experiment on me?' She thought, clenching her hands even tighter.

A knock on the door brought her out of her anger, "Come in," She sighed.

"Kagome?" Steve called, opening the door slowly.

She looked down at her hands, "I'm not going to let Stark experiment on me," She whispered.

Steve sat down on the bed next to her, "I know. It's entirely your decision whether or not you let Tony do any tests on you."

A small smile appeared on Kagome's face, "Want to get breakfast?"

Steve nodded, and both stood up. Steve held the door open for her and they walked, side-by-side to the kitchen.

X

"Shippou." Sesshmomaru addressed the fox demon in front of him, "Fury has sent another file requesting Kagome partake in a mission in central Nigeria."

"What? They can't take her away!" Shippou stood up in anger.

"They have full legal right to move her as they wish and to take her on mission, they just require permission for her to fight. Since we are handling Kagome's legalities for her, they have to have permission from us."

"But she could get hurt- it's not like they'll tell us what she's up against!" Shippou exclaimed.

"That's where you come in. I'm sending you into Lagos after her, to ensure she doesn't get hurt." Sesshomaru told him monotonously.

"Just me?"

"Kit, I have a multi-billion dollar company to run, I don't have the time to be chasing the priestess all over Africa."

X

 **A/N: How do you think the characterization is going? Is it okay? PLEASE REVIEW IT KEEPS ME MOTIVATED! Thanks to those who have reviewed! Here is the answer to some questions: No, Kagome is not Thanos's beloved, that part of the story is based largely around the comics! Her powers can cause injury to regular humans, though they are better used against superhumans/demons. Eventually, it will be mentioned how Inuyasha passed on and a better explaination for that. I also do want to have Hawkeye mentor her slightly, though that will be in the next few chapters probably! PLEASE REVIEW!**


	16. Chapter 16

The Will Of the Free

 **A/N: Welcome back! Hope you enjoy this chapter! Sorry about not updating for the past week, I'm going back to school so updates will probably be like 1 chapter a week?**

Brock threw his modified Ak-47 into a trunk on the chopper, making a loud clang as it hit the bottom of the metal trunk.

"Prepare take off for five hours." He told the pilot, before striding off down the ramp out of the chopper.

He walked out of the hanger that contained twelve-or so similar choppers, and down a narrow hallway towards the mess room he knew his men would be in. Most were laughing, eating or relaxing, but when their commander entered the room, all were silent.

"Men!" He yelled, addressing the mercenaries sitting around the hall, "We take off for Lagos in five hours. Have all equipment, guns, bullets, grenades, and armour on board your designated choppers for sundown!" He ordered.

A chorus of "Yes sir!" Answered him, and Brock strode out of the room, chatter slowly resuming in the mess hall after his departure.

X

Kagome found herself once again sifting through the cupboards in the kitchen, once again looking for breakfast.

"What do you want to eat?" She called, kneeling on the kitchen counter to look inside the cupboards.

Steve smiled, and leaned against the countertop opposite Kagome, "What's in there?"

"What _isn't_ in here? There's so much random stuff." She kept pushing through the random packets, "I found some crumpets?" She pulled a packet out from the back, and turned around to face him.

He nodded, "Fury talk to you about the Lagos mission?"

Kagome sighed, "Yeah, he told me that if I 'behave' then I'll get a visit with my family." She instantly felt sorry for not contacting them, and for leaving them in the dark.

Steve watched as sorrow flooded her ocean-blue eyes, "You _will_ see them." He told her.

"Thanks," she whispered.

X

"Barton!" Fury strode up to the man, his heavy boots making a crashing noise against the floor.

"Director, what can I do for you?" Clint furrowed his eyebrows.

"Our intel suggests that Brock Rumlow is taking off for Lagos _now_ , and the attack happens in three days, at the police convention." Fury fumed.

"Three days? That's nowhere near enough time-"

"You think Crossbones in going to care if we have enough time, Barton?" Fury folded his arms over his chest.

"Kagome isn't going to have trained well enough-" Clint started yet again, scowling.

"You train her three times as hard. And if that's not enough, she'll have to learn along the way." Fury dismissed his complaints.

"Yes, Director. Archery practice can start in two hours," He nodded.

"Combat training too, challenge her, _now._ We don't have the time to wait two hours, we take off tomorrow night. Make sure she doesn't get injured during training." Fury told him, before striding off in the direction of his office.

X

"Kagome?" Clint called into the kitchen. He could see Steve leaning on a counter and Kagome opposite him, holding onto a packet of crumpets.

"Hey Clint." She waved to him.

The archer turned to Steve, "Lagos mission's being moved up. We get deployed tomorrow night."

"Tomorrow?" Kagome raised her eyebrows.

He nodded, "Fury wants me to start training with you now, we don't have as much time to prepare as we thought we did."

"Clearly." She muttered.

"It's better to start now than to make him wait." Clint shrugged, "C'mon." He gestured to the door.

Kagome followed him out of the door, mumbling about how she didn't get the opportunity to eat her crumpets, leaving Steve alone in the kitchen.

X

"We're going to have to work on your archery stance," Clint told her, jogging up the stairs by her side.

She turned and gave him a sharp look, "What's wrong with my stance?"

"Well, I feel your sides are too open-" He shrugged.

"Too open?"

"Yes, your entire back is too open for attack." Clint slowed down, as they reached the training floor.

"Normally I have a barrier or wall around me, in case of an attack from behind." Kagome folded her arms over her chest.

"What happens if your powers fail? If you can't use them?" Clint raised an eyebrow.

"I'll cross that bridge when I get to it," She shrugged back, disinterested.

"Here, you need to know how to defend yourself. Behave for Fury and he'll let you have whatever he promised you in exchange for joining us on the mission." He sighed, "I'll set up the targets, they're moving."

Clint strode to the end of the room, pressing a button on the side of the wall, only for six targets to spring up from the floorboards.

He pressed the red button again, and the targets started moving on wire-like tracks underneath the bottom of the targets.

He walked over to the chest, pulling out two bows and two quivers full of arrows, "You're using _real_ arrows this time." He told her firmly, handing her the bow she used previously with Wanda and dropping the quiver at her feet.

"My arrows are real!" She huffed, pulling the quiver over her back.

Clint ignored her, "Your aim is good, but your stance needs work." He reiterated.

X

Shippou felt the blood drain from his face, "God," He whispered, hands shaking.

"That's who you're up against." Sesshomaru nodded at the picture of the mercenaries, hands folded in front of his body.

"And they're sending Kagome to fight _them_?" He shivered, as a video began to play on the large screen in Sesshmoaru's modern office.

It showed a man, in full military armour, with an 'X' painted across the chest piece, surrounded by other men in similar attire. Next to him, was a man, shoulder-length brown hair, face obscured by shadows, and a shiny metal arm.

"We obtained this footage from a hacked security camera in what we presumed to be an abandoned HYDRA base." Sesshomaru told him.

They were standing in a circle, a man in the centre, on his knees. There was no audio for the video, though it was clear the man was begging.

"Enhance." Shippou commanded.

The man was wearing a torn shirt, and was missing shoes and socks. Sweat was dripping down his head, onto his chest and his hair was matted with blood. His hands were raised in surrender, and he was panting from exhaustion.

The soldier-like man with the 'X' painted on the front of his armour raised his left hand to the man with the metal arm, a demand.

Striding forwards towards the man in the circle, the Winter Soldier unclipped a mask from around his collar and slid it over his nose and mouth. Upon seeing his actions, the other soldiers did the same, covering their faces with what appeared to be gas masks.

The man in the circle let out what would have been a deranged scream had they been able to hear him, and howled as if in pain.

The Winter Soldier said something to him, and tears started to drip from the eyes of the man in torn clothing. Using his metal arm, he unclipped a vial from his belt, and unscrewed the lid.

The man begged, clawing at the knee of the Winter Soldier, before clasping his hands together as if in prayer.

Using his real arm, the Winter Soldier grabbed the jaw of the man firmly and held the vial in front of his face.

Instantly, the man reared backwards, and the soldier stepped back into the circle, pulling the lid back over the vial.

The man in the circle thrashed about, hands on his head in extreme pain. A red energy spilled around him, dancing over his flesh. His body hit the floor, then he got to his knees.

The scene was truly horrifying, the man looked to be in extreme pain, the red energy slowly burning away at his flesh as he screamed for mercy.

The video ended abruptly, as the energy expanded over the body of the man and throughout the room.

"What the hell?" Shippou shuddered, clenching his fists.

"Bio-weapons." Sesshomaru explained, "And they're after another one."

"We can't let them get their hands on something like that!"

"That's Kagome's job. To stop foolish mortals from obtaining a power they can't hope to handle." Sesshomaru analysed.

"And let me guess." Shippou paused, "It's my job to clean up the mess she makes doing it?"

A slow nod was his only response.

X

She felt her powers scratch uncomfortably beneath her skin, writhing under her palms. She lowered her bow and turned to face the archer next to her.

"Is there a problem?" He asked.

"I'm using _my_ arrows." Kagome told him, dropping the arrow from her hand and removing the arrow quiver from her back.

Clint turned back to face the target, "Place your feet further apart, shoulder-width, for room to pivot if you need it."

She nodded, and allowed the energy that was blooming under her palms an outlet. Tiny, pink orbs formed in the air, and pulled together in an arrow-shape, glowing.

She took in a breath, thinking to herself, 'hit the mark.'

Quickly, she let the arrow soar through the air, before it landed in the centre of the target.

"Bull's eye." She told him, smiling to herself.

X

 **A/N: hey guys! Welcome back to those of you who are still reading! Chapter updates will be once a week from now on until the holidays (5 weeks), and will be on Sunday's. Please leave a review commenting what you think or how to improve my writing, they're all really appreciated and I try to take them all into consideration! PLEASE REVIEW THEY HELP KEEP ME MOTIVATED!**


	17. Chapter 17

The Will Of The Free

 **A/N: Since I couldn't update on Sunday (No internet ahhh), I'll make this chapter extra long! Sorry for the lack of an update on Sunday, guys!**

"Impressive," Hawkeye muttered, "Do you reckon you have enough energy to keep making arrows like that in a fight?"

She shrugged his mild concern off, "Probably, depends how many I need to make."

Clint nodded, "My turn." He reached for the quiver on his back and slowly pulled out a shiny grey arrow with a steel tip. After notching the arrow, he let out a deep breath. The arrow flew into the centre of the moving target.

"Bull's eye," He repeated her own words back to her, a small smile on his face.

X

The blades of the first chopper slowed to a stop as the plane landed unsteadily on the roof of the designated meeting point. Soon after, five or so other identical choppers touched down on the roof.

Brock ran a gloved hand through his hair before pulling the heavy plane door open, and jumping down onto the dusty rooftop.

The doors to the other choppers opened slowly, men piling out of them with disgruntled mutters.

"Men!" Brock addressed them, garnering their attention. Warm heat from the sun in Lagos hit their backs, there was no roof above them to provide protection from the scorching waves, and many of the men were becoming frustrated due to the heat.

"Three other choppers will be arriving tomorrow night, and the retrieval of the bioweapon takes place the morning after. Our buyers are willing to pay a large sum for this, _don't_ ruin for us. Take your weapons inside, the whole building is clear." He barked, fists clenched at his sides.

"Yes Sir!" Came the now interested voices of the mercenaries, they were once again reminded of the large sum of money they were to receive.

The men swarmed back into their choppers, pulling large guns, ammunition, armour and helmets out onto the roof in their sweat-covered arms, before trailing down a dusty staircase that lead deeper into the abandoned building.

X

The Black Widow, known to most of her closer associates as Natasha Romanoff placed the palms of her hands against the cool glass of the conference room table.

To her left stood Nicholas Fury, and on her right was agent Maria Hill, dressed in an identical black body suit to Natasha's.

Opposite the three were five holograms, showing the active feed of the council.

"Are you sure that girl is _stable_?" The female representative grumbled, tugging on the end of her navy blue blazer.

"I can assure you that taking Miss Higurashi on the mission to Lagos is a good idea," Fury soothed, addressing her concern.

Natasha could feel the tension between the council and the director of SHIELD rising slowly, as they probed for more information on the newest recruit.

"You call her 'Miss' as if she's actually human," Another member of the council chuckled.

"She's human enough." Fury responded curtly.

"Can she be trusted?" The woman from before asked, her silver eyebrows furrowed.

"Miss Higurashi can be restrained if needed," The director folded his arms over his chest.

"If needed? What is then to keep her from _not_ needing to be restrained?" She raised her voice, other members of the council muttering in agreement.

"Miss Higurashi has been told that if she behaves and does her job a visit to her family will be provided."

A man huffed, "Blackmail is all that is keeping her with SHIELD? If you want to keep somebody as powerful as you say she is, you'll need her to form a more substantial connection to SHIELD!"

"We're working on it." Fury gritted his teeth, his jaw tense.

The ginger agent had to stop herself from agreeing with the council, she had seen the footage. She watched first-hand what Kagome could do, she knew the raw power that was lying unused beneath her skin.

While SHIELD had legal authority over her, that didn't matter if she could obliterate those who attempted to enforce that law. 'A law is nothing to those stronger than it.' Natasha thought, remembering she had done her fair share of illegal things in the past.

"Miss Romanoff, what do _you_ suggest we do with that girl?" A member asked her.

"She is safest with SHIELD," Natasha told them slowly, "And the blackmail appears to be working, _for now_."

"And we're working on persuading her to join, without 'captive' status. If she could be convinced to work for us, for The Avengers, she could be a powerful asset." Fury continued.

"And what if the girl is not, in fact, convinced?" The woman in the navy-blue blazer raised one of her silver eyebrows.

"She has to be convinced through _other means._ " Fury told them, a smirk flickering across his face for a second, barely noticeable.

X

Tony sighed and set the whiskey he had been drinking back onto the countertop in his penthouse, "God." He muttered under his breath.

JARVIS, sensing the bitterness of his creator, intervened, "Sir, it appears to me you are the one at fault."

The billionaire groaned, "I know, I _know_."

"Then the next rational step would be to apologise," JARVIS told him mechanically.

"I would have reacted that way too, you know? If some random came up to me and asked to do experiments on me, I would have told him that he's off his rocker- that I'm Tony Stark, nobody gets to experiment on me!" He paused, "I suppose I could have been more sensitive, in hindsight."

"Sir, Director Fury requests your presence for a meeting at The Avengers Tower." JARVIS cut-off his ranting.

"What does mother want now?" He sighed.

X

Tony arrived at the tower shortly after, strolling quickly through the lobby of the tower and up the stairs.

He pushed the door to Fury's office open without knocking or asking for entrance. Sitting in a leather chair, with three folders spread out on the desk in front of him, was Director Fury. But they weren't alone, Natasha was standing behind him, imperturbable eyes glaring at the intrusion.

"Natasha what a _lovely_ surprise," Tony muttered.

"Sit down." Fury commanded, pointing at the empty leather chair nearest the door.

"What do you want now?" Tony gripped the cold leather sides of the chair, taking in a deep breath to steady himself.

"Brock Rumlow, remember him?" The director asked sourly.

"Strangely buff man? Spikey hair? Infiltrated SHIELD and stole intelligence and weaponry? Yeah I think I might remember the guy."

Natasha opened one of the files and turned it to face Tony, "He's formed a group of mercenaries, and in two days, he's going to make a strike on the police in Lagos, Nigeria."

"Sorry, I'm booked." He shrugged.

"Busy with something more important than stopping a group of mercenaries, Stark?" Fury raised an eyebrow.

"Yes, actually. I'm unveiling the Inaugural September Foundation Grant and presenting my newest invention to the receivers of said grant. Binarily Augmented Retro-Framing. Or BARF, for short."

"I see," Fury responded sourly, "I'll be sure to consult your schedule next time a mission needs Iron Man."

"It's not like you don't have the rest of the team, Vision, the Captain, Wanda, Tasha, Sam, or Kagome, who I'm assuming you're forcing to go with them." He shrugged nonchalantly, leaning backwards in the leather chair.

Fury gritted his teeth, "'Forcing' is a strong word."

"Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong, but you forced an _infinity stone holder_ to stay here, with no regulation or experimentation on her powers or the stone itself." Tony raised both eyebrows at the man opposite him.

"Initially, she was going to become an experiment- I was going to have officers from the pentagon pick her up, but now I realise that Higurashi would be too powerful an asset to lose. And that means keeping her and her people happy- no experiments." Fury explained, clicking his knuckles before placing his hands on the armrests of the chair.

Tony exhaled, "I can't make it to Lagos, I'm busy- I'm a billionaire, we're busy people." He stood up, "Goodbye, Natasha," He nodded to her, "Director." He nodded again before pulling the heavy door open and standing in the hallway.

The door clicked shut behind him, leaving him alone in the empty hallway. "JARVIS," He spoke into the watch on his wrist.

"Yes, Sir?" The A.I. responded, a blue dot flickering on the screen of the watch, indicating that the A.I. was working.

"Do a scan of the tower. Find me Kagome." He commanded.

X

"Clint, we've been shooting targets for the last hour and a half," Kagome sighed heavily, turning to face the archer next to her.

"Tired?" He asked, a small smile on his face.

"As if." She snorted, before conceding, "My arms ache a bit, is all."

"We should take a break, and then try combat training." He put the arrow he had notched on the bow back into the quiver resting on his back. He strolled back over to the chest of weapons and placed his quiver, with five arrows remaining in it, and the bow back into the chest. "There's food in the kitchen." He told her.

Kagome nodded in response, "You made me miss breakfast."

"That was Fury's call, not mine." Clint shrugged, "Come on, let's get food." He started to walk down the glass stairs to the floor below, then turned around to face Kagome, who was still standing in the gym. "C'mon."

"Coming," She answered, snapping out of her daze to join him.

X

"The energy my systems have identified as Miss Higurashi is heading down the stairs from the training room, towards the kitchen with Mr Barton," JARVIS responded.

"Thanks, Jarv." Tony muttered, taking off in the direction of the kitchen.

Tony could hear a distant conversation from the kitchen, "JARVIS. By any chance would Steve be in there?"

The blue light flashed on the watch before answering, "Yes, sir."

"Great," Tony muttered bitterly.

X

"Oh, hey Steve," Kagome greeted, not expecting to find him still leaning against the cool marble countertop, lost in thought.

"Hey Kagome, Clint." He nodded at the archer.

"Came to get some food, then we'll try some combat training," Clint told him, arms folded over his chest.

Kagome looked around the room, eyes scanning the countertops critically, before stopping, "That's where my crumpets are!" She exclaimed, pushing past Clint to get to the food she had to discard earlier.

"Don't eat too many, we still have to do combat training," He reminded her.

The raven-haired girl groaned in response, "I'm already tired from an hour and a half of shooting arrows at moving targets."

Footsteps walking slowly down the hallway garnered their attention, Kagome leaned her neck to see just who it was entering before feeling a wave of anger crash through her at the sight of him.

"Tony," Steve sighed.

"This isn't about you, cap. Don't get involved." The billionaire sent a pointed look his way, "Kagome- I know you may not want to listen- hell, _I_ wouldn't want to listen-" He started.

"Listen here, mister! If you think you can make me into some kind of experiment you're wrong!" She clenched her fists, holding the packaging of the crumpets tightly in her left hand.

"Experiment?" Clint frowned, looking over to Tony for an answer.

"Well, you see…" Tony started, raising his hands in mock surrender.

Agent Maria Hill ran into the room, clad in a leathery black jumpsuit, knee-high boots and a communication device strapped loosely around her head, "The three of you need to see Director Fury." She told them.

"Perrfect timing! I was just leaving." Tony told her, slipping past her and into the hallway.

"Tony-" Clint called after him.

"He can wait," Steve told the archer, "We need to see the Director."

Kagome nodded, strolling out into the hallway, Steve and Clint either side of her and Maria leading the way.

"Some _complications_ have arisen in our mission, Director Fury will explain that to you." She told them, holding the heavy door to the Directors office open for them so they could file into the dimly lit room.

"Director." Steve nodded.

Fury sighed, eyebrows furrowed, "It appears we've reached a new level of difficulty in our mission."

Kagome raised an eyebrow, and glanced quickly at Steve, "Difficulty?"

"Brock Rumlow is already in Lagos." He told them grimly. "There are more of them expected to arrive tomorrow and the attack itself will most likely happen in two days."

"So you need us to fly out there tonight," Clint muttered.

"Vision is to remain here, Miss Higurashi, Miss Romanoff, Sam and you two will be going. Sam will meet you there, he's due to come back from mission tonight and fly out later on."

"We're going _now_?" Kagome asked, eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"Pack your bags, weapons and assemble the team. Two days and we'll have Brock Rumlow and his mercenaries right where we want them." Fury commanded.

Kagome's pulse was frantic, her breathing uneven, 'Who are these people to send me away to fight for them?' She thought.

"Miss Higurashi, I remind you that a visit to your family is at stake."

She nodded weakly in response before turning on her heel and walking out of the room, Steve behind her.

"I'm sorry they're doing this to you," He confessed, looking into her ocean-blue eyes.

"Sorry isn't always enough," She whispered back.

X

 **A/N: Wooo the story hit 12,000 reads! It means a lot to me that y'all like it! Please review, they keep me inspired and let me know you want to read more! Constructive criticism is great and helps me understand how to be a better writer, but telling me "this story is complete crap," isn't helping anyone! PLEASE REVIEW TO KEEP ME MOTIVATED!**


	18. Chapter 18

The Will Of The Free

 **A/N: Hey guys! I know a few things are a bit messed up with the Time Line but everything will hopefully be resolved soon! Enjoy!**

Steve and Kagome walked through the corridor in near silence, the only sound being the click of Kagome's shoes against the floor.

She stopped abruptly outside of the door to the room SHIELD had assigned her, "Thank you, Steve." She told him genuinely, a small smile on her face.

He nodded back at her, "Try to get some rest on the flight, I have the feeling there won't be much time for sleep once we arrive in Lagos," Steve advised.

The captain smiled slightly at her before continuing to walk to his room, which was just down the hall from hers.

Kagome let out a deep sigh before grasping the cool steel door handle and walking slowly into the plain room.

The door clicked closed behind her, though she didn't pay it much attention. Everything in the room was so neat, so organised, so _not hers_ '. It reminded her of a hotel, people would come every now and then to clean, or to the leave food which she refused to eat.

The only things she could truly say were hers were the two photos, still in their cracked frames, that she had kept from her apartment and the clothes Tony had bought her when himself and Steve took her outside. Everything was so plain, no windows, no clocks, a plain wardrobe, a bed, a chair and two bedside tables.

Kagome shook her head, 'I should pack.' She thought solemnly. But her mind still travelled, thinking back to when she arrived, kicking and screaming. 'I should never have trusted some of these people,' she thought to herself. 'I made the rash decision to tell them about the jewel, about who knew what it could do- as if I could buy my way out of here with my knowledge and cooperation.'

She opened the wardrobe, 'I could have avoided this whole mess by fighting Steve,' she picked up one of the bags at the bottom of the wardrobe, clutching it tightly in her hands. 'If I want to avoid this whole mess- if I wanted to fight Steve and go back to my normal life, why does the thought of fighting him make me feel so weird? Why does the thought of hurting him make me want to throw up?'

The creaking of the wardrobe door snapped her out of her trance like state. She grabbed one of the jumpsuits from the wardrobe and put it in the bag, picking some boots to go with it and a forest green hoodie to wear over it. She grabbed both of the pictures, the one of her at graduation with her family standing proudly next to her, and the one of her feudal era friends, and placed them in the bag, being careful not to break the glass any more.

A sharp knock on the door interrupted her reminiscing of the past. "Come in," She sighed.

Swinging open, the door revealed Clint standing there, dressed in a leather suit, archery gloves strapped firmly on his arms.

He nodded at her in greeting, "I've brought your bow and some daggers- Fury says you should see him in his office." He handed her the bow, and the two steel-vibranium alloy daggers he was carrying.

"Any particular reason?" She clenched her jaw tightly.

He shrugged, "Like he ever tells _me_ anything."

Kagome smiled at that, "Is it a long flight?"

"A couple hours." Clint answered nonchalantly, "You should get some food for the flight, Fury probably won't let us have much 'time off' to eat."

Kagome looked panicked, her heart-rate speeding up, "Fury's coming with us?" She asked in shock.

"Hell no. He's going to be monitoring us throughout the mission via body cameras and comms." Clint folded his arms over his chest.

"Thank the gods." Kagome muttered, relief flooding through her.

Clint smirked back at her, "Don't forget you have to meet him, he doesn't like waiting." He told her, before leaving the room.

X

The secretary for the main branch of Tashio Corps ran up the stairs, almost tripping over in her high heels.

She reached the top floor of the building, where she knew her bosses office to be. Lian, the secretary, banged on the door in desperation.

Inside the office, Sesshomaru was sat at his desk opposite Shippou, both looking over all the information they had on SHIELD.

"Who is it?" Shippou grumbled.

"Lian." Sesshomaru answered shortly.

The banging on the door continued, "Mr. Tashio!" She called.

"Let her in." The dog demon ordered Shippou.

Shippou walked over to the door, "Will you shut up?" He whined at the loud noise. As soon as he pulled the heavy door open, the secretary barged into the room.

Her dark hair was messy and she looked like she was going to fall over after running up fourteen flights of stairs.

"Yes?" Sesshomaru raised an eyebrow at her.

"Mr. Tashio." She addressed him, "The Avengers Tower, you asked me to monitor it."

"Get to the point." Shippou huffed, his delicate ears still ringing from the loud banging sounds and her banshee-like wails demanding to be let in.

She ignored him, focusing on the demon in front of her, "The Lagos mission has been pushed forwards. They leave in two hours."

"Goddamn it!" Shippou cursed, "Get my jet ready, and make sure the crate in my office is loaded onto it."

The secretary paid him attention for the first time that day, "Yes, Mr. Faukai."

She left the room hastily, her heels clicking loudly against the floor.

"Time to go to Africa." He muttered.

"You haven't been there since the 1800s. Things have changed." Sesshomaru told him monotonously.

"Humans never change- they're the same no matter what time we're in." Shippou sighed.

"Hn." Sesshomaru responded dully.

X

Kagome knocked on the grey door to Fury's office slowly. She pushed the door open, to reveal Fury sitting at his desk, a small box next to him.

"Miss Higurashi." He acknowledged her presence with a nod of his head.

Upon seeing the man responsible for her captivity, she felt a surge of anger rise up in her, "Director." She greeted, her voice steely.

"As we originally discussed with Mr. Tashio and Mr. Faukai, you needed to be able to communicate with them." He reminded her, "Their legal teams were restless and pretty damn vicious about you not having a means of communication with them." Fury muttered sourly.

Kagome almost smiled, she knew they would do all they could for her, and if it came down to it, they'd break her out. 'My friends would never fail me.' She thought with pride.

Fury pushed the small white box towards her, and took the lid off, to reveal a phone. "Mr. Faukai and Mr. Tashio's numbers are in it. Any other contacts you want, you'll need to get off of them."

She picked up the box gingerly, staring at the piece of technology for a second before looking up and meeting Fury's gaze. "What's the catch?"

"The phone is monitored, of course. SHIELD has responsibility of you now, you're government property." He told her.

Another wave of anger washed over her, she wanted nothing more than to stand up and scream that she belonged to nobody, that she was done of being SHIELD's new toy, of belonging to anybody but herself. Her eyebrow twitching was the only visible sign of her rage, and she continued to restrain herself.

"You're dismissed, Miss Higurashi." He folded his arms over his chest, and waited for her to leave.

"Agent Hill." He turned and addressed the woman standing silently in the shadows of his office, waiting for an order.

"Yes, Director?" She tilted her head in question.

"I want as many spies as possible in Lagos for the next few days. I want all cameras hacked into- and I want a tracker on Higurashi."

"Yes, sir." She nodded.

"Now we finally get to see what that jewel can really do." He muttered.

X

Kagome left the office in a fit of rage, stopping outside the door with her fists clenched at her sides. She had half a mind to storm back in there and give him a piece of her mind. 'I'll show him! 'Government property'? And they told me this was a free country,' She fumed in her mind.

She took in a deep breath, her thoughts slowing down as she heard him talking from inside the office. Kagome could feel another aura in there, though she didn't notice the person when she was in the office.

Out of curiosity, she placed her ear to the cool surface of the grey door.

"Yes, sir." She heard a feminine voice say.

She pressed her ear further into the door to hear Fury's quiet response.

"Now we finally get to see what that jewel can really do."

Kagome stepped back in shock, before looking down at the jewel strung around her neck. 'This jewel brings nothing but suffering. It was born of bloodshed and evil- it has ruined so many innocent lives. And this man thinks he has the right to try to use it any way he wants?' She shuddered.

She heard the doorknob start to turn and quickly sprinted down the hallway, as to not look like she had been spying.

X

 **A/N: Next chapter: The mission! PLEASE REVIEW! Now that the holidays have begun, updates should be more regular!**


	19. Chapter 19

The Will Of The Free

 **A/N: Welcome back! This chapter is the start of the events in Captain America: Civil War, and some of the dialogue from this chapter/the next chapter will be taken from the script or inspired heavily by the script.**

Kagome opened the door to her room slowly, letting it close with a 'click' behind her. She looked around the dull room again, before sighing heavily to herself.

X

The blades of the assault chopper slowed to a halt as it landed steadily on the landing pad atop the Avenger's Tower. Agent Hill, Fury's right-hand agent, was already on the roof, ready to greet the captain aboard the chopper.

With a mechanical jolt, the chopper's door slid open, to reveal a man in leather gear.

The agents shared a nod, "Is the chopper ready?"

"Yes, ma'am." He answered.

"Have it prepared for take-off in thirty minutes." She relayed her orders to him.

"Yes, ma'am."

Maria then went down two sets of stairs, onto the Avenger's Quarters floor. Her hands hung freely at her sides, swaying as she walked. She stopped in front of Captain Roger's room, before knocking loudly on the door.

The door was opened from the inside, and Steve greeted her with a nod.

"Agent Hill." He nodded.

"Captain. We take off in a half hour, I assume you're already prepared."

"I am, Agent Hill."

"Could you tell Higurashi, Romanoff, Clint and Wanda to start bringing their bags to the chopper? I have an urgent meeting with the director and some foreign agents." She asked, though her tone was commanding.

"Of course, Agent Hill."

X

Kagome sat on the edge of her bed, her bag laying next to her. She had taken out the photo of her and her feudal era friends, and was looking at it forlornly.

The jewel had been so cruel to her and her friends, it caused suffering. 'I've never once heard of somebody finding happiness because of the jewel.' She thought, with a heavy heart.

She glanced first to Miroku, the lecherous monk who asked every girl he could find to bear his children. He faced a strong curse in his hand, and was barely able to control it.

Sango sat next to him, Kirara perched in her de-transformed state on her shoulder. Her family were killed because of Naraku, and she almost lost her brother, Kohaku, to him too.

Shippou was grinning, sitting in between Sango and Kagome. 'I never got to watch him grow up,' She realised.

And the last was Inuyasha. He lost Kikyo because of the jewel, and Kagome never got to see him again after the battle.

A knock on the door once again interrupted Kagome's reminiscing about the past.

"Come in," She called, and Steve walked in slowly.

"I'm sorry you have to come with us." He sighed.

"I know," She smiled sadly.

"Chopper takes off in half an hour, I've already told the rest of the team to start going up." He seemed frustrated, a strange tension in his tone.

Kagome put a reassuring hand on his forearm, "It's not your fault."

Steve shook his head, "It is. I brought you into this mess and now you can't get out of it."

"It'll be okay. As long as I cooperate, they won't see me as a threat." She reasoned.

Steve shook his head again, "If it wasn't for me you wouldn't be in this position."

"Let's get to the chopper." Kagome ended his train of thought there, grabbing her bag and trudging out into the corridor with Steve at her side.

X

Agent Hill stood atop the roof once more, next to the captain of the chopper, Agents Romanoff and Barton, Vision and Wanda.

Steve and Kagome arrived on the roof shortly thereafter, and they greeted Agent Hill with a nod.

"Miss Higurashi?" Agent Hill glanced at her.

"Yes?"

"Director Fury has requested that you wear a tracker," Maria pulled out a circular clip from a leather pocket in her jacket.

Kagome winced, 'So these people want to track me now?'

"Isn't it enough that she's with us?" Steve asked, arms folded over his chest.

"We need to be able to keep track of our assets, Captain." The deputy director told him.

Kagome was livid beyond belief, "Listen to yourself! You call me your property! Your asset! As if I'm not a person?"

"I didn't mean to offend you Miss Hi-" Agent Hill started.

"I _am_ a person. I'm different- I have different capabilities, but I am still a person." She clenched her fists tightly.

"She's human, Agent Hill, and she deserves to be treated like one. In the America I know, the America I love, she would have the right be accepted." Steve interjected, also angry at the notion the girl by his side was an asset to be attained by a government agency, not the bubbly, temperamental girl he found himself getting closer to.

"I'll have to tell the Director that you put up resistance, but I won't make you wear it." Maria conceded.

Kagome calmed slightly, though she was still aware they would continue to treat her like some kind of alien, and call it 'standard procedure.'

"We have a mission to complete." Natasha reminded them, before stepping into the chopper.

X

The flight seemed to last hours, in brooding silence. Natasha and Clint sat on the floor, sharpening their knives the entire time.

Wanda had entered some kind of meditative state, occasionally flecks of red energy would float up around her.

Steve sat next to Kagome on the uncomfortable leather chairs, though neither spoke a word.

Kagome's mind was teeming with anger, the very thought of anybody trying to control her or the jewel boiled her blood.

The blades of the chopper once again slowed to a halt, this time on the roof of a hotel in Nigeria.

The steel door opened with a shudder, and the team inside the chopper slowly piled out.

Before they could close the door on the pilot, he yelled over his shoulder at them.

"Top three floors are all yours. Director's got somebody down there with disguises and a mission update."

Natasha nodded, responding on behalf of the team, "Pick us up when we make the call."

The door was sealed, and the blades began to spin rapidly for take off again.

Once the chopper was up in the air, the team looked at each other.

The stars shone brightly above them, pale moonlight bathing the figures on the roof.

Steve pointed at a staircase in the corner of the roof, "Inside." He muttered.

X

Bags were left discarded in the corner of the first room they came across, one with dim lighting and only a table and chairs.

The light from the lamp flickered on and off, the room in complete silence except for the subtle hum of a nearby mosquito.

"We should find the agent Fury's left for us." Steve said, leaning on the table.

"I agree, they have information we need," Wanda nodded, looking to the team around her.

"I just watched that damn chopper land on that roof!" A voice yelled from the corridor. "How far could yo have gotten?"

"Unless he finds us first." Clint half-smiled.

The door swung open, barely clinging to its' hinges. "How did y'all get so damn far?" A man burst in, holding a large black bag in his hand.

"Sam!" Steve smiled.

"Welcome back, Wilson." Clint patted him on the back.

Natasha smirked, shaking her head.

"Good to see y'all too." He moved to greet Wanda, noticing Kagome next to her.

"Who in the hell?" Sam asked, eyebrows furrowed.

"Wilson, meet Kagome. Fury's new favourite prisoner." Clint introduced them.

He took her hand and shook it firmly, "Sam Wilson, the Falcon."

"Kagome Higurashi." She replied.

The buzzing of the mosquito persisted in the room, only serving to annoy the Falcon.

"Can somebody squish that thing?"

"Sam, we have work to do. The mosquito can wait." Natasha reminded him, arms folded over her chest.

"Ah yeah." Sam pulled open the dark bag in his hand, "Disguises. But those can wait for tomorrow. Tomorrow morning a reinforcement chopper is scheduled to arrive for Brock Rumlow and his associates. Tomorrow afternoon is when the strike happens." He pulled the bag closed again. "I hope y'all got some sleep on the ride- we need to be alert in case the attack happens any earlier- these people have a talent for pushing things forward."

X

Kagome sat in the corner of the room against the wall, using her bag as a pillow to ease her back as she stared blankly ahead, Steve leaning on the wall next to her.

Natasha and Clint were opposite each other at the table, their attention once again on sharpening their weapons.

Sam was whispering with Wanda, both sat on the dusty floor.

Kagome tore herself from her trance, and looked up at Steve, "Did you know they were going to try and track me?" She asked, a hint of anger in her mutterings.

Steve shook his head and lowered himself onto the floor next to her, "I'm sorry that they would even try to track you-"

"It's not just about the tracking, Steve." Kagome interrupted forlornly, "It's about being labelled government property, about being called somebody's asset, like I'm there to be used!"

"I won't let them use you." He told her genuinely, looking at her intensely in the eyes.

X

Morning came quickly, and the sunrise in Lagos signalled the start of their mission.

Sam woke up, after sleeping lightly in the middle of the floor. He brushed himself off and stood up, "Up and at 'em, everybody!"

He picked up the large black bag he was carrying the night before and opened it, "I was not the one responsible for disguises, so if ya hate it- it ain't my damn fault!"

He pulled out a green hat and jacket for Wanda and handed them to her.

"Ugh." She muttered.

Secondly, he pulled out a beige trench coat, "For the lady." He handed it to Natasha.

"And the rest of us?" Clint asked.

"Fury wants us to be the eyes in the sky- and he said for her," He pointed to Kagome, "To stay with Steve."

Kagome nodded, though her jaw was clenched.

"Natasha, Wanda. You're stationed at a coffee shop- don't act suspicious, keep an eye on nearby cops."

"Clint's staying in the streets, on the roof of a building by the police station. I'm on the roof of this building, and Steve and Higurashi need to find a window to look out of near the coffee shop."

"Suit up." Steve ordered, everyone leaving the room with their bags and headed to rooms along the hallway.

X

Steve looked out of a window shrouded in linen curtains, Kagome leaning on a wall next to it.

"Alright, what do you see?" Steve asked over the communication device, his eyes on Agents Romanoff and Maximoff.

"Standard beat cops, small station, quiet street." Wanda replied, sipping her coffee slowly, turning slightly to get a better view of two police officers that were nearby.

"It's a good target." Natasha responded, just a few tables away from her teammate.

Steve peered around the window frame, and Kagome walked to stand next to him, "There's an ATM in south corner." She noticed.

"Cameras." Wanda and Natasha muttered at the same time.

"Both streets are one-way." Steve sighed.

"So, compromised escape routes?" Wanda asked, her eyebrows furrowed.

Steve ran a gloved hand through his blonde hair, "It means he doesn't care about being seen."

"The range rover." Natasha raised an eyebrow. "About half a block over eastwards."

"The red one? Cute." Wanda sipped her coffee again.

"Private security, I know a bulletproof car when I see one." Natasha leaned backwards in her chair. "Not great news for us."

"Relax." Wanda eyed Natasha in her peripheral vision.

"Looking over your shoulder needs to become your second nature." Natasha told her, to which Wanda turned around and smiled at her.

Sam interjected for the first time, looking from his position on the roof, a couple buildings away from Clint at the police building. "Anybody ever tell you that you're paranoid?"

"Why? Did you hear something?" Natasha brushed her wavy red hair behind her ear.

"Eyes on the target." Steve muttered, both himself and Kagome looking out of the window.

"That garbage truck." Kagome pointed, her attention on a red garbage truck making its' way rather quickly through a crowd.

"Sam, tag it." Steve ordered.

X

 **A/N: ooooh it got REAL! I know in Civil War Clint isn't in the Lagos mission, but I want to include him and there isn't really anything that I can't easily fix with his unexplained disappearance.**

 **PLEASE REVIEW, tell me what you think, how I could improve, keep me motivated, ect. !**


	20. Chapter 20

The Will Of The Free

 **A/N; Good to hear you all enjoyed last chapter! I was watching the movie and trying to put everyone in character a bit more!**

On Steve's command, a metallic droid, with splashes of red paint along its' back emerged from the back of the suit of the Falcon, who was perched atop the roof.

Soaring, the droid flew quickly through the air. Sam turned his attention to the keypad on his forearm that allowed him to see through a camera on the droid.

The droid swooped underneath the garbage truck, after passing through several streets and a marketplace.

"Give me X-Ray," Sam spoke through the keypad, ordering the droid.

Redwing, the pet name Sam had given to the droid, scanned the garbage truck with several mechanical whirrs.

Sam stared blankly at the information presented on the screen on his forearm, before cursing, "Goddamn it! Redwing's telling me that thing's got a cargo weight of 13825KGS." Sam put a hand on his head, "Truck's loaded for mass weight, and the driver's armed. It's a battering ram."

"Go! Now!" Steve yelled through the communication device on his ear.

"What?" Wanda asked in her thick eastern-european accent.

"He's not hitting the police!" Steve realised, grabbing a strong hold of Kagome's arm and running for the stairs.

Instantaneously, the team sprang into action.

Quickly, Wanda stood up from her seat at the table. She turned around and nodded at Natasha.

Sam spread the mechanical wings on his back, and dived off of the roof.

X

The garbage truck speeded through the small streets of Lagos, headed straight for the gates of The Institute Of Infectious Diseases.

Grinning, the driver pulled the door open with a jolt and leapt out of the swinging open door onto the dusty stone pavement.

An armed guard at the gates of the entrance gritted his teeth as he watched the truck come forwards. Himself and another guard ran from the gates, anticipating that the truck, now driverless, wasn't going to stop.

An ear-splittingly loud bang echoed through the site as the truck hit a yellow and black barricade, causing it to flip violently and completely obliterate the concrete bar above it.

Two yellow trucks pulled up to the gate in the aftermath of the destruction, dust flying through the air in their wake.

Armed guards spilled out of both trucks, helmets protecting their identities and heavy armour protecting their bodies. Wielding large guns, they opened fire and pushed forwards inside the gates.

The last to exit the truck was Brock Rumlow, an 'X' spray-painted over his chest piece to signify his importance to the group.

He lifted his arm up, pointing with his gun to the second-floor windows. In response, his men rushed forwards, and aimed their weaponry at the windows.

Screaming rang out from inside the institute as patients watched gas canisters pour in through their windows.

Doctors darted about, attempting to avoid the ominous green gas that now flooded the hospital.

X

Steve rushed down the stairs, his hand still firmly wrapped around Kagome's.

"Sam." He called over the communication device, running into the streets.

"Need a lift?" Sam responded, "I've got you covered."

Steve looked upwards into the blue sky above Lagos. Spotting Sam darting in and out of wires above the buildings, he pulled the Captain America mask down over his face.

"So that's what he does." Kagome thought aloud.

Sam darted downwards, one of his arms extended outwards.

"Hold on tight," Steve turned to Kagome, a small smile on his face.

Steve's free hand grabbed Sam's forearm as he came towards them.

The mechanical feathers of Sam's wings spread to accommodate the extra weight, and the Falcon was once again in the air.

Kagome gasped at being swept abruptly off of her feet. She dangled precariously, hanging tightly onto Steve's hand, as he held onto Sam.

Being in the air reminded her of her rides on Inuyasha's back, the wind flowing through her hair. Being in the air reminded her of Kouga kidnapping her and jumping across a valley she was certain they would fall down.

This was a new height, and something she wasn't particularly keen on doing ever again. She breathed in deeply, attempting to steady herself.

"You doing okay?" Steve yelled from above.

"Not used to heights," Kagome replied, her eyes sealed shut.

"Hey lady!" Sam called to her.

Kagome cracked one eyelid open, "Yeah?"

"Wanda's down there- I'll drop you off." Sam smirked, "I hope you know how to land, let 'er go, Captain."

"You'll be fine, I'll see you when I get down there," Steve reassured her.

Kagome opened her other eye, and nodded at him before glancing downwards. 'Gah, what have these people gotten me into now?' She thought, her mind racing.

She looked back up at Steve, "Let me go," She told him, her voice laced with fear.

"I'll see you down there, watch out for Wanda," He released his tight grip on her hand, and watch her spiral downwards.

"OH MY GOD," Kagome screamed, flying through the air. Her pulse beat rapidly, and as the ground got closer, her powers instinctively protected her.

A pink domed barrier formed above the ground, stopping her from hitting the floor as she landed on top of it.

Kagome panted, her fear of being squashed on the sidewalk now not a reality. She took a moment to breathe and looked up into the sky in a silent thanks to the gods she used to serve.

'There's still a mission to complete- do this and you'll survive,' She reminded herself.

Now ablaze with a fiery determination, Kagome pushed herself off the barrier and onto the ground.

X

"Cut the crap, Lian!" Shippou growled over the phone.

" _Miss Higurashi is already in Nigeria, Mr. Faukai."_ The quivering voice of Sesshomaru's secretary responded.

"I know that! I'm standing on the corner by the coffee shop, what's the easiest way to get to Kagome?" He huffed.

" _She's near the Institute Of Infectious Diseases- in the air with the Falcon and OH MY GOD?!"_ She screeched.

"What is it, Lian?" He grew increasingly more frustrated with the secretary.

" _Captain America just dropped her! From the sky- should I call an ambulance? Wait what the hell? You have to see this – there's a giant pink dome about four blocks away and she's on top of it? Mr. Faukai, what the hell is going on?"_

"Four blocks away? Finally, you tell me something useful." Shippou hissed, hanging up the phone call.

'Time to go make sure she doesn't get herself killed,' He thought.

"Foxfire!" Shippou called on his abilities. A magnificent turquoise blaze engulfed him from head-to-toe, and left the spot where he was standing charred and unoccupied.

X

One of the armed intruders turned around, hearing noise from above. He narrowed his masked eyes, before starting to run backwards.

Sam threw Steve from his position in the sky to the soldier. Holding his shield out in front of him, Captain America used it as a battering ram to knock the soldier out, and to protect himself from the oncoming fire as more of the mercenaries realised he was there.

Bullets ricocheted off of the vibranium shield as he pushed forwards, knocking another man out by kicking one of the IFID Security cars at him.

Spotting another mercenary, he bent his arm back and threw the shield with a powerful swing, hitting the mercenary in the chest, and knocking him onto his back. He caught the shield as it bounced off of the man it hit.

Upon seeing his associates fighting Captain America, one mercenary crawled out of the back of an armed car, attempting to run inside the institute for protection.

The captain, shield now back in his hand, ran up the front of the car, and kicked his legs out, sending the mercenary flying into the stone walls of the institute.

Captain America sat perched on top of the car, "Body armour, AR15s. I count 7 hostiles." He spoke into the communication device.

Sam flew over the institute, before landing on the roof and taking out two mercenaries that were stationed there by extending his metal wings and swinging them at the men.

"I make five." He smirked.

Wanda, with a flight fuelled by her powers, soared over where Sam had just taken out two hostiles and onto the courtyard below.

She raised her hands, red energy manifesting and floating around her palms.

Sam watched from the bridge as one of the hostiles raised his gun and proceeded to fire shots at her. In response, the Scarlet Witch formed her energy into a shield, protecting her body.

She then raised one of her hands from behind the shield and raised the man into the air.

"Sam?" She called, glancing behind her quickly.

Sam dived off the bridge he had been standing and observing on, extending his wings to knock the levitating man into unconsciousness.

"Four," Sam clicked his knuckles.

Redwing, still detached from the Falcon suit, flew to the top floor of the building, a red light indicating that it was doing another scan.

"Rumlow's on the third floor!" Sam announced.

X

Kagome looked around her, recognising nobody, "I thought Sam said Wanda was down here?" She whispered to herself.

She walked forwards, hearing gunfire and screams erupt from a nearby building. She gasped, and reached out to feel the auras of the people on site. Sam, Wanda and Steve were all there, several people she didn't recognise were clinging to life, some unconscious, in the building.

Kagome could feel their distress and pain in their aura's and she stumbled backwards from the force of it, "I have to help those people," She told herself, "If I can use my power for good- I can save all of those distressed souls."

Feeling the destruction grow by the second, she took a deep breath, and ran towards the institute. Her abilities activated instantly, sensing she was going into a combat situation.

She sprinted faster, her powers fuelling her strength, speed, and stamina.

X

Steve watched Kagome run into the courtyard to stand next to him.

"Did you land okay?" He asked.

"Not planning to do it ever again, thanks." She breathed heavily.

Sam paced around, announcing Rumlow's location.

"Wanda, can you get the gas?" Steve ran forwards to meet Sam and Wanda, Kagome still at his side.

Wanda shook her head, "I was prepared for a small police station, not an institute three times the size." She clenched her fists, scanning the building, "I can get about half, it'll be exhausting to try to manipulate that amount of gas."

Kagome stepped forwards, "I'll try to get the other half."

Steve turned and looked her in the eye, "You ready?"

Kagome nodded, a look of determination to save the patients still alive on her face.

Wanda raised her hands, more energy floating around them, "I've got the bottom floor."

"I'll take the top and we'll both get the middle." Kagome reasoned.

"Just like we practiced, Wanda." Steve told her, stepping onto the roof of a car, shield in hand.

Using the energy around her palms, Wanda propelled Steve through a window and onto the third floor, glass shards flying onto the ground as a result.

X

Rumlow punched a glass door down, breaking into the lab. He stormed through, pushing lab assistants out the way to get to his target.

He opened a glass case, concealed at the back of the room to reveal a jar with a blood-red substance in it labelled, 'BIOHAZARD.'

"Pack it up." He commanded, addressing some of his men behind him.

X

One of the men on the third floor was firing at Steve, who was using a pillar to protect himself.

With one hurl of his vibranium shield, the man was lying on the floor, unconscious and breathing unevenly.

Steve rushed forwards, kicking another one of the hostiles and knocking him onto his back.

Another man ran out of the lab Steve was trying to get into and started firing, his bullets ricocheting off of the shield with a mechanical-sounding clang.

The mercenary pushed himself off of the ground, ready to fight although he wasn't armed. Quickly, Captain America grabbed a hold of the mercenary's leg and threw him, with one arm, onto the concrete pillar he was using to protect himself from gunfire minutes earlier.

X

Wanda's red energy crackled and enveloped the deadly green gas on the bottom floor, drawing it out of the building, breaking the remaining windows on that floor in the process.

Kagome steadied herself, 'this is just like purifying miasma – I've done this before,' she thought.

Her palms lit up a bright pink as she held them out in front of her.

On the third floor, pink energy danced with the gas floating through the air, like a poisonous mist.

The pink energy crashed into the green like a wave crashing against rocks on a stormy day. The energy rolled through the floor, a warm blanket smothering the gas. Within seconds the energy dissipated as Kagome withdrew her powers from that floor. When she was done, the green and pink were both gone.

Wanda pulled her hands backwards, "I've got the second floor too," she told the girl standing next to her.

Green gas swept through the building rapidly, drawing closer to Wanda. Gas flew into the courtyard, bursting through the windows, doors and cracks in walls.

"What do I do with it?" Wanda muttered, looking around herself for answers.

"I'll purify it, we can't let something like this hit the streets," Kagome answered, her palms still glowing strongly.

Burningly warm pink energy began to manifest in small flashes, before more and more of it accumulated in the courtyard.

"I can't hold it for long," Wanda struggled, her hands tensed as her red energy darted amongst the gas, herding it into a compressed space.

Kagome nodded, and the energy she controlled formed a barrier around the gas, packing it into a floating pink sphere.

"I've got it," Kagome gritted her teeth, letting the barrier tighten around the gas, only to let her powers crash through its' centre, imploding on itself.

The sphere disappeared, no trace of the gas remaining.

Kagome panted, her palms returning to their normal colour as she stopped using her powers, "That really takes it out of me," she murmured.

X

Crossbones, the codename given to Brock Rumlow, moved outside onto an external set of stairs for the institute, two of his associates standing behind him.

He glanced over the railings and spotted Sam firing back upon some of his men, the Scarlet Witch and a girl he didn't recognise behind him, red and pink energy flickering away into nothingness around them.

"He's here," He told his men, all three of them running down the stairs, bioweapon in hand.

X

Shippou emerged from more turquoise flames just around the corner from the institute. The pavement he was standing on was once again charred as a result of the flames burning there seconds ago.

He sniffed, his nose twitching as he did so. 'Kagome's been here recently,' He frowned at what he smelt next, 'why the hell does it smell like poison?'

X

 **A/N: I've been writing this chapter for a few days, it's the longest one I've written for this story! Also, we're on CHAPTER TWENTY. This is the longest fanfic I've ever written! Thanks for reading this, it makes my life so much better hearing about what you all think. I've had a few comments about my characterization of Fury, I have some plans for him and will definitely 'redeem' him later on. Also, I'm looking for a beta for my story because I keep making grammatical errors and realise it when re-reading later on.**

 **PLEASE REVIEW! THEY'RE THE REASON I KEEP WRITING!**


	21. Chapter 21

The Will Of The Free

 **A/N: I'm glad the response to the last chapter was so positive! Thanks for reviewing!**

After taking out the hostiles on the third floor, Steve sprinted into the lab. An alarm from the lab rung out, signalling that the bioweapon had been removed.

The door to the glass container was swung wide open, and the vial of liquid missing from its' secure place.

"Rumlow has a biological weapon," Steve grunted over the communicator.

X

"I'm on it," Natasha answered, the low hum of the motorcycle she was riding echoing in the mostly-empty courtyard.

One mercenary stood stationary in front of a car, raising his gun, about to fire.

Natasha gripped the brakes tightly, spinning the motorcycle onto the ground and using it to flip her opponent over onto the concrete floor.

She sprinted forwards, watching two men stand by another car, and three others run behind it.

One, wearing a blue-lined bullet-proof vest, raised his pistol at her shakily. She ran at him, going under his arm and using her momentum to flip him over onto his back.

Another emerged from the armoured vehicle, but she quickly slammed the metal door back onto his head, a pool of blood seeping slowly out of his helmet.

A mercenary, bullets strapped across his chest, reached a hand out to try and stop her from going any further. Natasha brought her knee up to kick him in the groin, and pushed him onto the ground, prying the gun he was holding from his hands.

She struck another over the head with the heavy gun, discarding it within seconds of the hit. She swiftly turned her attention to the next mercenary, bringing her leg up to deliver a powerful kick to his chest. He stumbled backwards, creating a thud as he hit the ground. Natasha flipped another over her shoulder, tossing his gun into the nearby bushes. She slid over the bonnet of another armoured car, using the taser strapped on her wrist to send a shock through his arms.

Natasha remained tense, sitting on the bonnet of the car, scanning the area in front of her for more hostiles. Suddenly she was dragged, by her neck to the roof of the car.

A man with a white 'X' spray painted over the chest piece of his armour held her neck tightly in a vice-like grip. She struggled, managing to turn herself around despite his tight hold on her neck. Natasha punched, landing several powerful hits on his thick forearm. She span around to kick him and he let his hold go, dodging her kick before regaining his hold on her neck. Crossbones pulled on her ginger hair, bringing her up to look through his mask and into his eyes. She reached up to an exposed piece of flesh on his neck, and promptly stabbed him with the taser she had used before.

He let out a rough laugh, before yelling at her, "I don't work like that no more!"

He flipped her over with his forearm, and threw her head-first into the armoured vehicle.

She hit the floor with a resounding clang, and looked around her to see two mercenaries sitting at the back of the truck. She gazed upwards, looking through the hole she had been thrown into and at the man that had thrown her.

"Fire in the hole," He grinned beneath his mask, taking the pin out of a grenade and dropping it into the truck.

X

Shippou ran around the corner, the smell of both Kagome and the poison becoming more dominating. He stopped in his sprint as he saw Kagome standing outside the building, a brunette next to her and a man with metal wings on his back some way off.

He saw the destruction, the broken windows, the shards of glass lying around, the entrance in ruin, chunks of concrete strewn about the site and he growled. 'What the hell is Kagome doing in a place like this?' He thought lividly.

His anger flared quickly, remembering Fury's promise that she would remain safe, 'If Sesshomaru didn't want me to keep my distance, and observe, I would have taken her someplace safe by now.'

He stalked off along the pavement, finding a bench to sit and watch on. 'Sesshomaru wants me to clean up after her? No way in hell!'

X

The grenade started ticking, signalling that it was ready to detonate. Natasha scrambled backwards, grabbing one of the men sitting at the back of the truck and using him to shield herself from the blast.

The back doors of the vehicle were violently blown off their hinges, leaving Natasha lying, coughing, with two burnt bodies next to her on the grass.

X

Steve ran out onto the external stairs on the side of the building, where Rumlow had been standing minutes earlier.

He gazed downwards, spotting Natasha lying on the grass, coughing, soot covering her face. Steve furrowed his brows, watching Crossbones crawl through the top of a tank to reach the guns at the top. The man grasped onto the rubber handles, before starting to shoot, a rain of bullets coming down hard on the balcony. Captain America sprinted back inside, his vibranium shield pulled close to deflect the bullets.

The man with the 'X' on his chest loaded a different type of projectile into the heavy weaponry, and proceeded to start firing the small missiles through the walls of the institute on the third floor, where he could see Steve through the gaps in the walls where windows once were.

Concrete and the remainder of the glass went flying, with Steve running to the balcony, hoping to escape the blast.

The missile ticked, a low humming sound filling the air. Steve heard the noise, and ran faster, realising it was ready to explode.

The missile went off in a fiery explosion, powerful enough to catapult Steve over the balcony, a plume of fire and smoke following him out into the air.

He spiralled through the air, thudding against the cold wall of the institute before landing on the ground.

Pain rippled through his body after landing on the stone pavement, from three floors up. He gritted his teeth, rolling himself over onto his stomach before pulling himself up.

"Sam," He called over the communicator, "He's in an AFV headed north."

X

Kagome gasped as Steve was thrown violently through a balcony and onto the ground below by a powerful explosion on the first floor.

"Steve?" She asked, before turning to Sam as she watched him struggle up, "Will he be okay? Should I help?"

"Nah, he a super-soldier, he just needs to walk it off." Sam smirked. "Steve says our target's in an AFV headed northwards," He relayed the message.

His wings spread, the mechanical feathers stretching outwards in preparation for flight. Before he took off, he looked Kagome in the eye, "Stay with Wanda, I don't want to be responsible for losing you."

After that last sentiment, he took off, glancing at the keypad on his forearm.

"Let's go- we can try to cut them off," Wanda nodded at Kagome, pointing at an alleyway, "We'll meet the others there."

Kagome nodded in return, running alongside her into the alleyway.

The sun glared down upon them, rays of light penetrating the alleyway and falling upon the heads of the two girls running through it.

Once they came out of the small alley, they reached a turning point. One way, to the left, lead out to a marketplace, people in bright colours bustling about. The other, to the right, lead out onto an empty road, the way back to the building they had stayed in the night before.

"They'll want to get lost in a crowd. We start looking for anyone in armour, with weapons or looks suspicious," Wanda told her, eyes scanning the area.

"Let's go, there's a lot of people that way, we should try there first." Kagome nodded.

Their eyes met quickly, before they started pacing towards the fruit stands, several people yelling at them to attempt to persuade them to buy their produce. The market was busy, a loud and crowded area, it would be easy to get lost amongst the people.

'It'd be easy enough for me to escape,' Kagome thought, 'But where would I go? The phone SHIELD gave me is at the hotel, none of my friends are in Nigeria, and I'm pretty sure Wanda could subdue me until help arrives if I make a run for it.'

"There!" Wanda pointed at an armoured truck.

"An AFV," Kagome breathed, "Abandoned." She sighed, sensing no auras from within the vehicle.

X

Sam soared over the market, absentmindedly noting Kagome and Wanda's location as he passed over them. He landed with a thud atop the metal roof of a market stall. He put his hand to the side of the red glasses he wore over his face, searching for any of their targets in the crowd.

"I got four, they're splitting up," Sam cursed.

"I've got the two on the left," Natasha replied icily, speeding on the motorcycle she had previously discarded through the crowd, before once again leaving it and jumping over cars to chase her targets.

Steve, too, tore through the crowd, kicking off of a taxi to propel himself forwards. He spotted a military-style vest lying on the ground, and bent down to look at it. He recognised it as part of the armour the mercenaries had been wearing during the fight, "They ditched their gear, it's a shell game now. One of them has the payload."

Kagome was instantly relieved to hear Steve's voice over the communicator, thankful that he sounded unharmed.

Seconds after he relayed the information to the team, a red metallic device implanted itself on the front of his shield. Reacting quickly, he swung the shield into the air, leaving the bomb to detonate in the air.

Suddenly, he was jabbed from behind, and fell to the ground a few meters away.

"There you are, you son of a bitch," Their target, Brock Rumlow, chuckled from behind him.

Steve struggled to get up, before Crossbones ran at him landing a heavy punch that tossed him into a table.

"I've been waiting for this!" His enemy yelled hysterically.

X

Natasha ran through the marketplace, ignoring the whines and screams of the civilians as she ran past them.

The falcon, too, was looking for the hostiles. He soared through the air, constantly scanning the crowds to track them. He set his sights on a man running, in all black, through the crowd, desperately trying to lose him. Sam brought his legs together, flying down quickly to deliver an efficient kick to the man's ribs.

Another came up behind him, firing shots at him with a small pistol. Sam brought one of his wings up to shield himself from the barrage of bullets that were aimed in his direction. He ran forwards, before extending one wing and using it to hit the man with the gun in the face, knocking him into a fruit stand.

Noticing the man's unconscious state, Sam hurried himself to sort through the black satchel that was strung over his enemy's shoulder.

"He doesn't have it," Sam rolled the man over, checking for the biological weapon on his person. "I'm empty." Sam sighed, turning on his heel.

"Out of the way!" Natasha yelled, sprinting through the colourful market. She flipped herself over a yellow bike, dodging crates, chairs and people to stalk her target. The target in question pushed past people and into a more open space. Natasha realised her opportunity, running up onto a table to gain higher ground. She launched herself onto him, tackling him and bringing them both down and into the sand.

The man quickly got on his feet, pulling out a pistol from his pocket. Natasha wrestled with him ferociously, pulling the weapon out of his hands and punching him in the chest repeatedly.

X

Kagome could hear an explosion over the communicator, followed by Sam's cries that his two targets didn't have the weapon. When she returned from the Feudal Era, she found herself craving the adventure and comradeship she had in the past.

She wanted that all again, but she wanted it to be on her terms.

X

 **A/N: Wow, another update in two days! Amazing! Thanks for all the love and support I've had on this story! PLEASE REVIEW! First, I'd like to address a few things.**

 **Clint is on this mission, but he isn't in the action because I have other plans for him, (I hadn't forgotten about him!) And about my version of Kagome, when I finish this story, I'm going to revise all of the chapters and bring her back into character! PLEASE REVIEW THEY KEEP ME MOTIVATED TO UPDATE!**


	22. Chapter 22

The Will Of The Free

 **A/N: Welcome back!**

The second of the two men Natasha had followed creeped out from a nearby stall, his pistol held out in front of him.

Watching the second man bring his finger to the trigger, Natasha gabbed a woven basket and threw it at the man. He was slightly disorientated from the hit, his head reeling slightly. Natasha noticed the dazed look on his face and swept his feet out from under him with one leg. She turned back to look at the first man she had knocked over, seeing him back on his feet.

She steadied herself and flipped the two men over in one rapid motion, using her legs to propel herself off of their bodies before they hit the ground. They quickly got back up again, only for Natasha to tackle them to the ground once more with a grunt. She rolled over the second man, punching him in the face and picking the gun she had stolen from her first target out of the mud.

The second man sprung up, grabbing his own gun from his pocket. He looked at Natasha, a certain kind of savagery playing across his face.

Pulling out a red vial from his satchel and holding it out in front of himself, the first man addressed the redhead, "Drop it." He drawled in a thick nigerian accent, "Drop it or I drop this."

Natasha's resolve stayed strong, she still had the stolen pistol aimed squarely at the armed man's head.

"He'll do it!" The armed hostile panted, his voice jagged and uneven.

Slowly, from behind the man holding the vial, a red and silver drone descended from the sky. It was on the same level as the man's neck, and fired one shot straight into his jugular. The man that had just been shot recoiled instantly, the bioweapon flying out of his hands.

Taking the opportunity, Natasha fired on the man standing in front of her, before diving into the sandy pathway to catch the bioweapon before it could hit the ground.

With one spring of her legs, she had flipped herself back up, and turned to the drone, "Payload secure," She sighed, "thanks Sam."

"Don't thank me," Sam chuckled over the communicator.

"I'm _not_ thanking that thing." Natasha shook her head, her red locks brushing against her shoulders.

"His name is Redwing!" Sam reminded her, smiling.

"I'm still not thanking it," She snorted.

Sam used the keypad on his forearm to send Redwing forwards, "He's cute. Go ahead, pet him!"

"No," She muttered in exasperation.

X

Steve dodged the kick of Crossbones, pushing himself up off the ground to fight.

Crossbone's armoured fists swung at Steve in rapid succession, each one either missing him entirely or blocked by one of Steve's forearms.

People ran out of the courtyard screaming, their fear was obvious and plentiful. The crowds scrambled to leave through narrow gates, their thoughts firmly on escaping.

Steve looked over Crossbones shoulder, checking that the area was evacuated. While scanning the marketplace for a sign any civilians were left, Brock grabbed a hold of Steve's arm and threw him into a wall.

X

"The comm's are acting up." Wanda huffed, both herself and Kagome only being able to hear static after Steve's proclamation that the hostiles had ditched their gear. She hesitated before she spoke, "Sam told me not to lose you- but we need to find the others. It would be far more efficient if we split up and then used our abilities to signal the other when we find the group."

Kagome frowned slightly, "You're just going to let me go?" She thought aloud.

"Between you and me- I think you're no threat to the people. You looked so determined to save the patients at the institute. That's what the Avenger's do. We save people, we make the world a decent place for people who are decent. _We_ save people, and I can tell you want to save people too." Wanda looked down at her hands, "It's important that people like us help people who need it. I could see the fire in your eyes as you helped those people- I can see it now. If we can help, why shouldn't we? If you want to help, you can help on your own terms. Fury wants your respect and he's going to have to earn it." She concluded.

Kagome smiled, 'somebody understands. I want to help people, I want to make the world a nice place to be in. But I want to do it as a free person, not as a slave.' She thought.

"Thank you," She said earnestly, looking Wanda in the eye.

"Let's find the others. We can split up- I'll take this way, and we'll meet when we have the others."

The two turned on their heels, headed in opposite directions. Wanda went further into the marketplace, while Kagome wandered towards the larger buildings of the city.

Her conversation with Wanda left her mind full, and she ceased to pay attention to the real world, focusing on her thoughts.

'Why would she just let me go- I could escape so easily, though I don't have anywhere to go and SHIELD has eyes everywhere. Didn't Fury mention sending more spies into Lagos to prepare for this mission? They could be watching me right now!' She shuddered, bringing herself back to reality.

She stopped herself for a second outside a large white-brick building to take a break from her wandering, and leant against the wall slowly.

X

Rumlow made several more swipes at Steve's chest, which he dodged swiftly. Captain America managed to land a powerful blow of his own on the armoured chest of the man he was fighting.

Crossbones shuddered as he took the hit, before charging forwards and pinning Captain America against the teal wall.

"This is for dropping a building on my face," He hissed, like a rabid animal. A knife sprung out of its' sheath in Brock's armoured fist. Crossbones launched his fist directly at Steve, who lunged quickly out of the way. Brock's fist met only the wall, leaving a hole in the decaying plaster.

Steve twisted his body around with a grunt, his elbow meeting Brock's metal mask. He used his other arm to tear the metal armour Brock's arm had been encased in off of one of his arms.

Crossbones quickly started to use the other arm, and an identical knife to the one on his other arm sprung free. He swiped at Steve, the tip of the knife nearly meeting his head. Steve dodged it and raised his leg to deliver a powerful kick, the force of which sent Rumlow flying onto the dusty ground.

Captain America stalked towards him, his eyes on the man on the ground.

Rumlow got to his knees, panting heavily out of exhaustion. He pulled his mask off, his gaze planted on the ground. Captain America grabbed his collar, meeting his eyes.

Brock's face was terribly scarred, his left ear almost completely gone, and one of his eyebrows missing. "I think I look pretty good, all things considered." He smirked.

"Who's your buyer?" Steve clenched his jaw, tightening his hold on Rumlow's collar.

"You know he knew you." He panted, "Your pal, your buddy, your _Bucky_."

Steve brought his other hand to Rumlow's collar, his grip steely and his eyes wild, "What did you say?"

"He remembered you. I was there, he got all weepy about it. 'Till they put his brain back in the blender. He wanted you to know something. He said to me; 'Please tell Rogers, when you gotta go, you gotta go.'" He recounted, before his smirk twisted into an ominous smile, "And you're comin' with me."

Brock hissed in pain as he pressed a button he concealed under his armour, activating an explosion.

Steve stepped backwards in shock, but tendrils of red energy quickly wrapped around the explosion, containing it.

Steve looked behind him, watching Wanda raise her tense hands, breathing heavily, forcing the explosion into the energy.

Brock's tortured screams rippled through the marketplace, he was in an incredible agony, still alive despite the raging fire consuming his flesh. Wanda noted the people around, her priority was to save them.

X

Kagome reached out with her powers, feeling for familiar aura's in a trance like state. She could feel Wanda's, and Steve's relatively nearby. She cracked her eyes open, 'Why hasn't Wanda signalled me?' She furrowed her brows.

She concentrated again, feeling the familiar aura's of the team she had been forcibly integrated into around the marketplace. She could feel another she recognised and gasped as she realised, "Shippou?"

Her mind went into shock as she could feel him walking through the alleyway herself and Wanda had gone through from the institute.

She shook her head and looked around, attempting to spot him. Her eyes turned upwards as she heard screams coming from the area she could sense Wanda and Steve in.

She froze as she watched a man, engulfed in a sphere of flames get violently thrown into the building she was leaning on.

Kagome shook, scrambling to try and pull together a barrier before the debris tumbling from the building could hit her.

X

The top floors of the building were completely burnt out, chunks of concrete falling as the top of the building imploded on itself.

Wanda recoiled instantly, her eyes wide with a terrible shock. Her hand covered her face as she looked at the damage she had done.

"Sam," Steve whispered, his face one of devastation, "We need fire and rescue on the south side of the building."

He started running towards the building, leaving Wanda, tears streaming down her face, in a crumpled heap in the dust.

"We need to get up there." He told Sam, determination to save the survivors flooding through him.

"I got you, fire and rescue are on their way." Sam replied, soaring over the market to get to the buildings.

"Wanda?" Steve called over the comm, "Wanda?"

Wanda's comm faded in and out of static noise, just enough to hear Steve.

"Where's Kagome?" Steve asked, "Wanda?"

"I- I don't," She spoke shakily, "w-we split, we split up to find you, I went t-to the m-marketplace and she, she went-" Wanda paused, more tears rolling over her cheeks, "she went towards t-the buildings-"

Sam cursed, "I told you not to lose her! Goddamn she's probably halfway to Japan!"

Wanda closed her eyes, shuddering as she started to bawl, "Sam, s-she wanted t-to be like us, she w-wanted to help, she w-wanted to do it on her own terms, she couldn't, she w-wouldn't leave now."

Sam paused mid-air as he watched fire engines pour into the scene, "Why the past tense, Red?"

Wanda fell to the ground, "I saw her, by the building that's up in flames, I turned back and she was leaning against the wall there." She whispered.

"Oh my," Steve stopped his sprint, staring up at the building in front of him. A plume of smoke escaped the top floors, windows were gone, shards of glass fell from the sky and massive chunks of concrete were strewn about on the ground.

X

Civilians called out to the fire and rescue service, spotting a young woman's head protruding out from a fallen slab of concrete.

"Hey!" The man yelled, "There's someone under here!" He waved for help, calling to the people nearby.

Steve heard the man's desperate shouts, and quickly ran over to him, deciding that going into the building could be done by the Fire and Rescue service, and that his strength could be utilised on the ground.

"She's here!" The man exclaimed, pointing at the pretty face of a woman, inky black hair spread out around her face.

"Kagome?" Steve recognised her, springing into action.

X

She swung in and out of consciousness, feeling a heavy weight crush her body, she slipped into darkness.

Her vision was hazy as she felt the weight get pulled off of her with one mighty heave. Kagome saw double, shaking her head for her vision to return to normal, "Steve?" She whimpered, a wave of pain rolling through her.

His face was the last thing she saw before she slipped once again into the comfort of darkness.

X

Shippou had watched the flaming man get flung into the building, he had grunted when he saw the destruction.

And he brushed it off as the destructive nature of man, as he continued to follow Kagome's scent.

He went into a ballistic frenzy when he watched none other than Captain America pull her bruised body out from the rubble of the building, and cradle her petite form in his arms.

X

 **A/N: What do you think? REGULAR UPDATES WOOO! PLEASE REVIEW, THEY KEEP ME UPDATING AND WANTING TO WRITE MORE. PLEASE JUST LET ME KNOW IF YOU LIKE THIS STORY AND WANT TO SEE MORE!**


	23. Chapter 23

The Will Of The Free

 **A/N: Welcome back!**

Shippou rushed towards Captain America, shoving bystanders out of the way as he made his way through the crowd.

Steve stood up, carrying Kagome bridal style, her body pulled close to his chest.

Sam flew overhead, looking down at Steve, "Damn, she didn't make it as far as japan," he muttered.

Shippou stormed towards him, leaving a trail of disgruntled civilians in his wake. His emerald eyes met Steve's blue ones and he started to snarl. If Kagome wasn't in his arms, he would have lunged at him.

"You people said she wouldn't get hurt," He let out a low growl.

"If I could have prevented it, I would have." Steve looked sombre, his face stony as he gazed down at the woman he held in his arms.

"Listen here, Captain." Shippou stalked closer, his illusion over his appearance almost dropping as his control started to slip, "She's supposed to be safe, she's supposed to be being evaluated on whether or not she's a threat, she's _not_ supposed to have a building dropped on her." He snarled, "When she wakes up, if she wants to leave she gets to leave. I don't give a damn about your stupid american laws. She's been through enough, she doesn't deserve to get hurt."

Steve pulled her against his chest, "Kagome can make her own choices, she deserves to get to make them." He nodded.

"If it wasn't for you and your people she wouldn't be hurt, damn it! If she wants to be hero again, if she wants to save lives again, she does it on her own terms and your people stop treating her like an animal." The demon spat, his fists clenched tightly at his sides.

Steve nodded, not noticing the 'again' in Shippou's speech. "We'll give her the best possible treatment," He paused, before looking down at her, "She doesn't need to get hurt again."

Shippou clenched his jaw, his hands twitching to rip the man carrying his mother figure to shreds, "Glad we're on the same page. If she decides to leave, she's coming with me and you're going to stay the hell away from her. Have your people call me when she wakes up, I want to be the first person she sees."

Shippou forced himself to act civilly to him, knowing that transforming into a demon would only make matters more complicated.

"I will," Steve nodded, glancing up at Shippou momentarily before his eyes fell back onto Kagome's resting face.

Shippou reached out to tenderly stroke Kagome's forehead, before pulling out his cell phone. "I'll be watching you and your people closely from now on."

With those parting words, he disappeared in the crowd, quickly dialling a number into the phone and letting it ring.

X

"Clint's not answering his comm." Natasha grunted, cursing herself for not noticing his absence.

"It's fine, Natasha." Sam sighed over the communicator, grabbing their bags from the place they stayed overnight.

"It's not fine, Sam. I'm calling Fury. Clint's not the type to disappear." She threw her head back in exasperation, opening a line to Fury's office through an emergency button on the comm.

"Agent Romanoff." Fury greeted her disinterestedly.

"Where's Clint?" She had a demanding tone to her voice, pressing the director for information.

"He's been pulled out of the mission, Romanoff. Urgent business apparently, I'll explain fully when you arrive at the base." He summarised.

"Is he injured?" She asked, her red eyebrows tilted into a frown.

"No, Agent Barton is perfectly fine. Miss Higurashi, however, doesn't appear to be faring too well." He spoke sourly.

"She can be attended to when we get back." Natasha sighed, ending the call.

"Curiosity sated, Tasha?" Sam smirked.

"Let's just get back." She concluded coldly.

X

Kagome stirred again only after the plane had landed, sleeping the entire way in Steve's arms. Wanda had sat in the corner, refusing to look at her, tears of guilt streaming down her face.

She awoke when they left the chopper, landing steadily on the roof of the avenger's base. Her eyelids fluttered open as Steve descended down the steps and into the base.

"Steve?" She asked, still dazed from her surroundings change.

"Kagome, thank god you're awake," Steve looked down at her, pausing in his stride down the stairs.

Kagome moved slightly in his grip, her head pressed into his chest, "What happened? The last thing I remember is trying to throw up a barrier, but there was so much pressure-" She shuddered as she recounted it.

"The building exploded, Rumlow's dead, he caused the explosion. He was thrown into the building, there were a lot of casualties." He summarised, a sadness on his eyes.

Kagome blushed slightly, a red tint appearing on her cheeks as she realised Steve was still holding her. She quickly refocused herself on the issue at hand, the casualties. "How many?"

"Eleven Wakandans, I'm not sure about the rest." He sighed, "Do you want me to put you down?"

Kagome nodded, despite how nice it felt to be in his arms. He set her down slowly on her feet, and she hissed in pain as he did so. "Are you okay?" He asked, one arm still wrapped around her waist.

"I can heal it if I get back to my room." She nodded slowly, adjusting herself and taking a deep breath.

"Your friend, Mr. Faukai, was there." He told her, leaning against the wall.

"I knew I could feel him there," She muttered, "What did he want?"

"He wants Fury to call him as soon as you wake up, I don't doubt he'll be here soon." Steve looked at her carefully, "I'm glad you're okay."

Kagome smiled, "I'm going to go to my room now, I'll be there if you need anything."

"Are you sure you don't need me to carry you?" He asked.

"I'm fine." She reassured him, and his arm slowly left her waist, leaving her to fully support herself on the ground.

She turned around, sluggishly making her way down the stairs with a slight limp. She reached her room quickly, opening the door with a soft click.

X

"Mr. Faukai, she's awake. Captain Roger's told me that you wished to be notified if she woke up. I assume you'll want to visit her too." Fury sat in his office, reclined in his leather chair, his phone clutched tightly in one of his hands.

" _I'm on my way, Director. And this time, some things are going to change."_ Shippou warned.

"I understand that you're upset, Mr. Faukai, but the threat needed to be evaluated and we thought it best to do that in a combat scenario." Fury defended his views, sitting up straight in his chair.

" _Your people dropped a god damn building on her, Director. If anything, your team is a threat to her. Let me make something clear: She wants to help, she wants to do the best for humanity and if she's your puppet she can't do that. Things are going to be different from here on out, and I'm going to make sure of that."_ Shippou spoke with a fiery determination, fighting passionately for the rights of his mother figure.

"I understand Mr. Faukai, I'll be seeing you soon." Fury ended the call. He turned to the woman stationed at his side, "Agent Hill, once my meeting with Mr. Faukai is over, I want you to call the rest of the team here. We need to re-evaluate our team in accordance with the council and the government." He instructed.

X

Shippou's car tore through the busy roads leading to the base. He slammed the break and got out of the car, walking quickly towards the building.

He once again ignored the pleas of the receptionist, begging him to sign in. He ran quickly up the stairs, jogging to the director's office.

He knocked loudly on the door. Without waiting for a reply, he stormed into the room.

"Where the hell is Kagome?" He spat.

"Mr. Faukai, I have sent an agent to go and retrieve her, she will be only a minute." The director raised his hands in a signal of mock surrender to the man in his office.

X

"Miss Higurashi?" An agent banged on the door, entering without permission, only to find her lying on her bed, hands folded over her stomach.

The agent watched her in fascination. Her eyes were sealed shut, it looked like she was asleep, her breathing was steady but underneath her hands the agent could see a vibrant pink light spilling out from underneath them.

"Miss Higurashi?" The agent asked again, peering around the door.

Kagome took her hands off her stomach, the vibrant light disappearing from the room. Her eyelids opened and she slowly sat up, facing the agent, "Yes?"

"Director wants to see you in his office, you have a guest." The agent told her, holding the door open so that he could escort her to Fury's office.

"Thank you, agent." She nodded her head respectfully, walking down to Fury's office.

When she got there, she found the door wide open, a furious looking Shippou sat opposite a disgruntled director.

"Shippou," She smiled, reaching down to Shippou, only to get engulfed in a tight hug.

"Take a seat, Miss Higurashi." The director gestured to the empty leather chair next to Shippou.

The door swung closed with a slam behind her, and Fury clicked his knuckles, "I believe we have some things to discuss."

"Director," Shippou started, "You have clearly proven Kagome isn't a threat to the public, your people _dropped a building on her_ , for god's sake."

The director turned his attention to the girl in question, "How are you feeling, Miss Higurashi?"

Kagome put a hand on Shippou's shoulder, "I'm healed now."

"You shouldn't have gotten hurt in the first place!" Shippou interjected, slamming his hands on the oak table. "From now on, things will change."

"And what do you propose we change, Mr. Faukai?" Fury raised an eyebrow at him, both curiosity and dread flooding through his mind.

Shippou sighed, "Kagome." He paused, "You want to save people," He began to whisper, "You want it to be like it was in the past, you've had a shock coming back to the modern world. And if you want that sense of comradeship you had in the past, you need to be free to do as you please."

Kagome nodded, the priestess' and the demons' stony gazes were now set on the director.

"Listen here, director. I want to be a free person again." She took in a deep breath, "I wasn't a threat to the public before all of this and I'm definitely not a threat now. Wanda told me that this team saves people, helps to make the world a better place. I want to do that, I want to make the world a better place and if your organisation can help me do that then so be it. But I want to do it on my own terms."

"And those are, Miss Higurashi?" The director clasped his hands together.

"I want you to remove all of your spyware from the phone you gave me. I want to be free to make my own choices, I'm not a tool for you to use and throw away as you please, you hear? I'm my own person, and should be treated like one! The jewel stays with me, it's not a toy for you to mess with, I'm not a toy for you to mess with." She demanded, fire raging in her sapphire eyes.

Fury swallowed, 'agreeing to her terms could help tie her to the avengers permanently,' he thought. "I agree to your terms, Miss Higurashi. You're a free person, a free member of the avengers."

Shippou turned to look Kagome in the eyes, his own eyes showing his desperation for her to stay with him, "You want to stay here?"

"I'm going to help people, Shippou. I'm going to fight for those who can't and I'm going to do it my way, and I think these people can help me." She stood her ground, holding firm her beliefs.

"I get it, Kags. You want to help people and I can accept that, to use your gift for good is a powerful thing." He nodded, closing his eyes. Kagome squeezed his shoulder in an effort to reassure him.

"Don't worry, Shippou." She whispered, "He says I'm free, I'll visit you as often as I can. I'm free to leave, free to stay. I have a choice, and I choose to use this thing to help people, I choose to use SHIELD to help people."

He opened his eyes again, a certain look of helpless acceptance on his face, "Thank you, director. I'm going to talk to Kagome outside." He stood up, enveloping her hand in his and guiding her out of the room.

"Miss Higurashi, I expect you to be at a meeting in the conference room in 10 minutes!" The director shouted after her.

X

Steve turned around, he was gazing out of the window outside Wanda's room, and stopped when he heard the news anchor talk about the accident in Lagos.

"What authority does an enhanced individual like Wanda Maximoff have to operate in Nigeria?!" The news anchor raged, the television itself showing pictures of the aftermath of the explosion.

Steve reached over to grab the remote off of a grey counter in her room, turning the TV off with one click.

"It's my fault." She muttered, looking at her hands, "It's my fault Kagome was hurt, it's my fault those people were killed." She looked lost, as if she were drowning in a stormy sea with no help in sight.

"That's not true." Steve told her firmly, leaning against the doorframe.

Wanda looked up, her haunted eyes meeting his as she sat cross legged on her bed, "Turn the TV back on, they're being very specific about whose fault it is."

"I should have clocked that bomb vest long before you had to deal with it." Steve walked into the room, taking a seat beside Wanda on her bed. "Rumlow said 'Bucky' and all of a sudden I was a sixteen-year-old kid in Brooklyn again." He confessed, "People died. It's on me."

Wanda shook her head, her loose brown curls floating down her back, "It's on both of us."

"This job," Steve glanced downwards, "We try to save as many people as we can, and sometimes that doesn't mean everybody. But if we can't find a way to live with that, then next time, maybe nobody gets saved."

X

 **A/N: That's the end of that chapter! We're now deep in Civil War (about 10 minutes into the movie plot!) Two chapters in one day is a lot, please let me know what you think/ if you like this story! PLEASE REVIEW! IT KEEPS ME MOTIVATED TO WRITE THIS STORY!**


	24. Chapter 24

The Will Of The Free

 **A/N: Welcome back!**

Once they stood outside of the office, Shippou wrapped his arms around Kagome's small frame, pulling her into a tight hug.

"I was so worried, I don't want anything to happen to you," Shippou mumbled into her shoulder.

"Shippou, I missed having my freedom so much, I missed being able to stay up all night in your penthouse watching films, I missed you so much." She whispered back, her arms clinging to his neck.

"You mean the world to me, mama. I don't know if I'm ready to let you go again," He paused, "When Inuyasha died, it was just me and Sesshomaru. I missed having your guidance, I missed having you so much. I missed him, I missed Sango and Miroku, and I missed you. I don't know if I can watch you go again." He whimpered, reflecting on the past traumas in his life, watching his best friends slowly die while he lived on was a horrible experience.

"I want to use what I have for good, like we used to in the Feudal Era. There are more evils in this world than there back then, and they can be just as strong as Naraku. He may be long dead, but there is still evil and still innocent people being hurt. I think I can protect them, if I can help, I should. I'm going to be doing it on my own terms now, and I'm going to see you as often as possible." A tear escaped her eyes, "I'm not going to let any more important moments in your life pass me by."

Shippou pulled away from her slightly, her sapphire eyes meeting his emerald ones, "I'm glad to have you back, and I'm glad you want to do the right thing. Just please don't get yourself hurt."

Kagome grabbed his hands, "I'll try."

Shippou nodded, "You have a meeting, avenger." He flashed her a half-smile before breaking away from her touch.

"I'll call you tonight," She whispered, "I'm sorry about all the waiting I put you through." She told him honestly, sorrow flooding through her.

"Five hundred years is a long time, but it was worth it just to see you again." He gave her that phrase as parting words, turning around and strolling back down the stairs, leaving Kagome alone in the corridor.

X

Both Wanda and Steve's heads snapped up instantaneously, as a large figure materialised through the wall.

"Vis," Wanda sighed sadly, "We talked about this."

Vision turned around to point with one arm to the door, "Yes, but the door was open, so I assumed that I could…" He trailed off, noting Steve's presence for the first time, "Captain Rogers, I thought you would wish to know when Mr. Stark was arriving."

"Thank you, I'll be right down." Steve nodded.

"I'll use the door," Vision gestured to the door, walking through it, only to turn around a second later. "Oh, and apparently he's brought a guest."

"You know who it is?" Steve asked, raising his head to meet Vision's gaze.

Vision exhaled slowly, "The secretary of state." He said, very matter-of-factly, before leaving the room fully.

"We should go to that conference," Steve sighed, standing up from Wanda's bed.

She too stood up a second later, "We should." With that, the two of them exited the room, headed to the conference.

X

The team slowly made their way into the room, each taking a seat on one of the leather chairs around a large glass table.

Kagome was the last to go in, feeling everybody's eyes on her. Natasha, Steve, Wanda, Sam, Vision all watched her come in, another man she didn't know, an older black man sat nest to Natasha and Tony.

She sat in one of two empty chairs, in between Wanda and Steve.

Kagome noted Steve and the rest of the team had now changed out of their uniforms and into more casual clothing, and she was the only one not to have done so.

Steve leaned across to her, his head nearly touching hers, "You okay?"

Kagome nodded, "I'm fine." As she said that, Tony Stark stormed into the room, quickly taking a seat on the chair next to Natasha. Behind him walked in a rather angry-looking man in a slate-grey suit.

"Five years ago," The man started, talking loudly as to garner the attention of the people in the room, "I had a heart attack. Dropped right in the middle of my backswing. Turned out it was the best round of my life! With thirteen hours of extensive surgery and a triple bypass, I found something the army could never teach me. The Avenger's have saved the world, protected us! Heroes, some might say. But others may prefer the term 'vigilante.'"

Wanda immediately tensed up, shaking slightly. Kagome turned to Steve, her eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

Steve could almost predict her question, "Thaddeus Ross, Secretary of state." He answered solemnly.

Natasha tilted her head, "And what word would _you_ use, Mr. Secretary?"

"How about 'dangerous?'" He placed his hands on the table, "What else would you call a group of enhanced individuals who have a knack for creating problems?" He asked, looking around the table. He spied Kagome and frowned, "You're new." He muttered, "But I can assume you too attribute to the destruction. This group inflicts their will on whoever they please."

He turned around, pressing a button on a small remote that lay on a wooden tray at the end of the table.

A video appeared on screen, showing gigantic scaly monsters flying around tall buildings, dull screams in the background. Men dressed in military uniforms fired shots at the flying beast, none doing much damage. From the roof of a building, a large green man that quite honestly looked like a demon Kagome would have encountered in the past, jumped onto another building, slabs of concrete falling in it's wake.

Kagome's eyes widened, 'what kind of demon is that?'

"New York." Ross paused it, moving onto another video.

This one zeroed in on the capital, "Washington D.C." The man announced.

This video showed a massive sky-craft, known as the hellicarrier, plunging deep into the ocean, thick black smoke tumbling out of it. People ran in terror, trying to escape the oncoming tsunami, only to be pulled under the waves.

"Sokovia." He said next, the video changing.

It showed a mass of land flying in the air, blue lights shining brightly from underneath it. Dirt poured off of the land, burying people and crushing houses that were below it.

"Lagos."

Another video played, this one showing the most recent damage.

Wanda shuddered and looked away, her head shaking slightly. Steve looked over at her in sympathy, "Okay. That's enough." He commanded.

"For the last four years you've operated with unlimited power and no supervision. That's an arrangement we can no longer tolerate." Ross grunted, "But I think we have a solution."

An agent handed him a blue hardback book, which he set down on the table.

"The Sokovia accords, approved by 117 countries. It states the Avenger's shall no longer be a private organisation. You will operate under instructions of a united nations panel."

Kagome instantly recoiled, 'what if these people take my freedom away from me? I've only just gotten my freewill back, and I'm not about to let them take it.' She thought angrily.

"The Avenger's were formed to make the world a safer place," Steve objected, "I feel we've done that."

Wanda shoved the book to the man opposite her, the only man Kagome didn't recognise. He flicked through it and passed it to Natasha.

"Tell me, Captain." Ross straightened his back, "Do you know where Thor and Banner are right now?"

Steve gazed up at him, jaw clenched.

"If I misplaced a couple of 30 megaton nukes, you bet there'd be consequences." Ross leaned backwards.

The man Kagome didn't know spoke for the first time, "So, there are contingencies?"

Kagome didn't think too much into what the man was saying, livid about his comparison of them, _real people_ , to nuclear warheads.

"Three days from now the UN meets in Vienna to ratify the accords." He sighed.

Steve glanced over at Tony, who had not yet said anything.

"Talk it over." Ross demanded.

"And if we come to a decision you don't like?" Natasha asked coldly.

"Then you retire." The secretary voiced stonily.

X

Somewhere in Cleveland, an ex-colonel was hanging upside down in his own basement, tied tightly above a sink that was slowly filling with muddy water.

"Mission report: December 16, 1991." His captor, a man wearing a deep blue vest, grabbed tightly onto a file he had stolen from his captive.

"Who are you?" The colonel hissed, his forehead feeling the icy shock of the muddy water rising.

"My name is Zemo," His captor told him, discarding the file and instead clutching to a read book with a dark star on the front. "I will repeat my question. Mission report, December 16, 1991."

"How did you find me?" The man strung up by the sink asked, the roped around his body constricting him unforgivingly.

"Black Widow released old HYDRA files to the public, most of them encrypted. Not easy to decipher, but a man can do anything when he has experience and patience." His captor explained, stepping closer to his helpless form.

"What do you want?" The man in the restrains yelled, struggling in the ropes.

"Mission report, December 16, 1991." Zemo reiterated his demand, an animalistic look flashing across his face.

"Go to hell." His victim panted, water rising higher and higher in the sink, splashing at his eyebrows.

Zemo leaned onto the basin of the sink and turned the tap off with a squeak, "HYDRA deserves its place on the ash heap. So, your death will not bother me. But I'd have to use this book, and other _bloodier_ methods to get what I need. I don't look forward to that. You will only be dying because of your pride." He tried to persuade him, speaking in a silkily smooth eastern-eauropean accent.

The man refused to talk, not even making a sound. Zemo shook his head, gritting his teeth. He turned the tap on full blast, and watched with a twisted smirk as the water filled the sink up at twice the speed it was previously.

"Hail HYDRA." The man hissed, before water completely enveloped his head.

Zemo stood up, a small red book clutched tightly to his chest.

X

"Secretary Ross has a congressional medal of honour! That's one more than you have." James threw his hands up, arguing with Sam.

Kagome turned around, watching their argument, "Who is-" She started, whispering to Steve.

"James Rhodes, War Machine. Uses a metal suit, like Iron Man." Steve summarised, flicking through the pages of the accords book.

"Are we not going to talk about her? Who the hell even is she?" Rhodey started, pointing at Kagome.

"Kagome Higurashi." Sam nodded at her, arms folded over his broad chest.

"As of today, Fury says I'm done for evaluation." Kagome confessed.

"What?" Natasha frowned slightly.

"I'm free, and he says I'm free to be a part of the team." She leaned back in the leather seat.

"I'm the one up for evaluation now that he's able to recognise that Kagome is a person." Wanda muttered.

James and Sam continued to argue, "So let's say we agree to this thing. How long is it gonna be before they lock us up like criminals?" Sam yelled.

"One hundred and seventeen countries want to sign this! And you're like 'nah it's cool, we got this'!" Rhodey waved his hands about.

Sam huffed, "How long are you going to play both sides?"

"I have an equation." Vision spoke, his hands folded on the table.

"Oh, this'll clear it up." Sam muttered, rolling his dark eyes.

"In the eight years since Mr. Stark announced himself as Iron Man, the amount of known enhanced persons increased dramatically. In the same period, the number of near world-ending events has increased." Vision stated coolly.

"Are you saying it's our fault?" Steve asked, placing the accords book down on the table.

"Our strength invites challenge. Challenge invites conflict. And conflict breeds catastrophe. Oversight is not an idea that can be dismissed out of hand." The android rationalised.

"Boom!" James exclaimed, nodding at Vision.

"Tony," Natasha sighed, looking pointedly at the billionaire, "You're being uncharacteristically non-hyperverbal."

Steve put a hand on his temple, "It's because he's already made up his mind."

"And what have you decided, Tony?" Kagome asked, still mad at him for wanting to experiment on her earlier, but willing to listen to his opinion.

"Congratulations, by the way, on your freedom. I'm assuming that makes you part of the discussion about what happens to the team. Capsickle you know me so well." He winced as he stood up, "Actually, I'm nursing an electro-magnetic headache, that's what's going on, Cap."

Tony stood up, walking over to the counter to lean on it. "Who's putting coffee grounds in the disposal?" He asked, "Am I running a bed and breakfast for a biker gang?" He pulled up the cuff on his sleeve to press several buttons on the screen of his watch.

On the screen that secretary Ross used, an image appeared of a young, darker boy looking carefree in a park. "Oh, that's Charles Spencer by the way. Great kid, computer engineering degree, 3.6 GPA. Had a massive gig for Intel planned in the fall. But first, he wanted to get a few miles on his soul. He wanted to see the world, to be of service. Charlie didn't want to go to Vegas, which is the first thing I would do. He decided to spend his time building homes for the poor in- guess where? Sokovia." Tony said, a bitterness to his voice.

Everyone in the room looked stunned, Kagome had heard on the news, not too long after she got back what had happened. She didn't know the precise details, just that The Avengers had dropped half of Sokovia from the sky, to stop another great evil, at the cost of many lives.

"He wanted to make a difference I suppose. Then again, we don't know because we dropped most of a small country on him while we were kickin' robot ass." Tony spoke quickly and remorsefully, pulling a bottle of red pills from his pocket and taking one.

Everyone sat in a stunned silence, listening to Tony. "There is no decision-making process here. We need to be put in check, if we remain as we are, we're no better than the bad guys." He announced.

"Tony," Steve looked up at him, "If someone dies on your watch you don't give up." Kagome looked at the man next to her and nodded.

"Who said we're giving up?" Tony asked quickly, leaning on the marble countertop.

"We are if we're not taking responsibility for our actions. This document just shifts the blame." Steve spoke, pointing at the accords book lying out on the table in front of him.

"Sorry, Steve. That is _dangerously_ arrogant. This is the UN, not SHIELD, not HYDRA, not the World Security Council." Rhodey interrupted, leaning on the wall, Sam standing opposite him.

Steve shook his head, "No, but it's run by people with agendas, and agendas change."

"That's good!" Tony strolled forwards, "That's why I'm here, when I realised my weapons were being used by the wrong people, I surrendered them."

"Tony! You chose to do that, if we agree to this, we surrender our right to choose." Steve argued.

Kagome butted in on the conversation, voicing her opinion on it for the first time, "SHIELD's agenda was to control me and take away my freedom. Why would the UN's agenda be any different?"

"Sorry, kitten. You're a walking hazard!" Tony muttered in frustration. Kagome sank back into the leather chair, anger raging beneath her skin.

"What if there's somewhere we need to go and they won't let us?" Steve asked, placing his arms on the table. "What if they make us do something we don't agree with? The safest hands are still our own."

"if we don't do this now, it's going to be done to us sooner or later!" Tony yelled, looking around at the team's reactions.

Wanda shrunk under his gaze, "You're saying they'll come for me?"

X

 **A/N: Wow that was a pretty long chapter. PLEASE REVIEW AND LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU THINK! THEY KEEP ME MOTIVATED!**


	25. Chapter 25

The Will Of The Free

 **A/N: So, I'm pretty sure this chapter will be Sharon's first appearance, and Peggy's funeral. Obviously, I'm going to be writing Sharon differently because this story is a romance between Steve/ Captain America and Kagome. Also, just to warn you there's quite a few scene and time changes in this chapter, like there is the movie!**

Vision turned to Wanda, "We would protect you." He promised, looking at her intensely.

Natasha held her hands up, "Maybe Tony's right. If we have one hand on the wheel we can still steer, if we take it off…" She trailed off, speaking monotonously.

Sam narrowed his eyes slightly, "Aren't you the same woman who told the government to kiss her ass a few years ago?"

She pursed her lips, "I'm just reading the terrain here. We have made some very public mistakes, we need to win their trust back."

Tony tilted his head, "Did I mishear you or did you just agree with me?"

She huffed quietly, folding her arms, "I want to take it back now."

"No, no, no, no, no." He smirked, "You can't retract it. Unprecedented. I win, case closed." He turned his attention to Kagome, "You seem to have some very strong opinions about what's good for the team for somebody that was not a part _of_ the team until what? An hour ago?"

Kagome glared at him, "Listen up, buddy. I'm not about to let you make me into an experiment. I've had enough of people controlling me. I like my freedom so you'll have to forgive me for not wanting to give it up so quickly."

Tony nodded, not meeting her eyes, "I can get that. You don't have to become one of my personal science projects, but I'd prefer it if you were. We need regulation, as a team we need somebody looking over our shoulders and making sure we're the best we can be."

Kagome shook her head, "Their agenda is control. They're going to control me, and I'm sick of being told what to do by people who don't have my best interests at heart." She snapped.

The room was silent for a moment, the team couldn't seem to look at each other without fighting for a solution to their problem. The moment of silence was broken by the light buzzing of Steve's phone.

' _She's gone. In her sleep.'_ The message glared at him from the screen and he instantly felt as if his whole world had shattered around him.

Kagome instantly noticed the drop in Steve's normally warm aura, as it morphed into one showing mourning and depression. She looked up at his face and easily spied the sorrow in his eyes. "Are you okay?" She whispered, putting a hand lightly on his forearm.

"I have to go." He announced, rising up and throwing the book on the table. Kagome stood up soon after his sudden exit, following him slowly out of the room, her sadness reflecting his own.

X

He walked down the stairs, only to stop once he got to the end of the first set. He pulled his head into his hands, Kagome could feel the distress and despair emanating off of him through his aura. She watched him lean against the metal railing and push his head into his hands.

Kagome rushed down the stairs to him, her heels clicking against the surface as she did so. "Steve?" She looked up at him softly.

"She's dead," He whispered, "Peggy's dead." He looked at her, pain in his eyes.

Kagome had heard of Agent Carter before, she had become famous after the second world war and started SHIELD, Shippou had explained to her once that he had the honour of meeting Peggy, when he was starting his business and needed to find allies in the US, of which there had been very few at that time with the post-war tension, to help him cement his place in the western world.

"I'm sorry," She told him finally, placing a hand on his shoulder gently, "It hurts to lose someone you care about."

He gazed at her, asking her the silent question: 'how would you know?'

Kagome continued to stroke his shoulder lightly, "When I was fifteen I had the most incredible group of friends I could possibly imagine. There was Shippou, who you've met, Sango, Miroku, and Inuyasha. Sesshomaru was his older brother, and they didn't get along well." She smiled sadly as she recounted it, "Our group spent two years together, I lived far away from them so I had to travel to visit my family. I left one day and was unable to return to them. When I reunited with Shippou, he told me that him, Sesshomaru, Koga, some of Kouga's brothers and Kouga's wife were the only ones still alive. Most of my best friends had died and I wasn't even there." She looked down at the ground, "Mourning people you care about is difficult, you feel like you missed out on so much of their lives and you feel like you don't know how to survive without them. I miss them every day, but there are people who understand and can help you through it."

He wrapped his strong arms around her petite frame, bringing her in for an embrace, "Thank you," he whispered into her ear. Kagome quickly returned the hug by wrapping her arms around his neck tightly. "Her funeral's in a few days, will you come to London with me?" He asked quietly.

"Of course, Steve." She replied honestly, relaxing in their shared embrace.

X

It had been a quiet two days, every member of the team had been avoiding each other since the conference, still divided about what to do. Since news of Peggy's death spread to the rest of the team, they offered him condolences, but essentially still left him alone, save for one person: Kagome.

The voices of a small choir rang out in the magnificent church, singing praises and sweet hymns to the congregation. As they did so, the marching began. Six broad men, including Steve, slowly brought an oak coffin draped in a Union Flag to the front of the church. They set the coffin down slowly, Steve lingering for a second longer than he probably should have to gaze at the coffin. He trudged back to his seat at the front of his church, where he sat between Kagome and Sam.

They were dressed appropriately for the occasion, Sam and Steve both in black suits while Kagome wore a knee-length black dress that hugged her figure nicely at the top and flared out slightly at her hips.

As he sat down in the pew next to her, she could feel the heavy emotional weight on his aura, the kind of crushing sadness you feel after the death of someone you care about. She put a tender hand on his shoulder, trying to ease his anguish. The hauntingly beautiful voices of the choir stopped slowly, letting out one long last note.

The priest, dressed in a black robe, addressed the mourners, "And now, I would like to invite Sharon Carter to come up and say a few words."

Sam nudged Steve, who was looking at his hands, to silently tell him to look up.

A woman with short blonde hair, wearing a black trench coat, walked slowly up to the alter to speak. She took in a deep breath before beginning, "Margret Carter was known to most as the founder of SHIELD. But I just knew her as Aunt Peggy." Her eyes darted around the church, looking at the congregation that had gathered for the funeral. "She had a photograph in her office. Aunt Peggy standing next to JFK, as a kid, it was pretty cool. Now that I'm older, it's a lot to live up to. That's why I never told anyone we were related. I asked her once how she managed to master diplomacy and espionage in a time where women were supposed to do neither. She said compromise where you can, and if you can't then don't. Even if the whole world is telling you that something wrong is something right, even if the whole world is telling you to move. It's your duty to plant yourself like a tree and tell them, 'No, you move.'

The funeral passed rather quickly after that, none of the other speakers stood out quite like the first, Peggy's niece.

Sam left the church, leaving Steve to mourn alone. Kagome reluctantly did the same, realising he would need time to mourn her loss.

"You're not alone, Steve." She told him quietly, before following Sam outside. That left Steve alone in the church, hands stuffed in the pockets of his suit, his mind swimming with despair.

He stood there, alone, contemplating the time he had with Peggy for quite some time. The only thing that snapped him out of his trance-like-state was Natasha, walking quickly through the centre of the church to get to him. Steve turned to her and started to speak, leaning against a dark wooden pew, "When I came out of the ice, I thought everyone I had was gone. I was so lucky to have her."

Natasha smiled sadly, "She had you back too."

Steve brought his mind back to the biggest issue facing the Avenger's in an effort to avoid thinking about Peggy any longer. The Sokovia accords being forced upon them by the government. "Who else signed?"

"Tony, Rhodey, Vision," She listed them.

"Clint?" Steve asked, the majority of the team still didn't know what had been going on with him.

"To be determined, he's considering retirement. Urgent business was his retirement plan being interrupted, he had to sort things out with Fury and the council." She sighed, "I'm off to Vienna after this for the signing. There's plenty of room on the jet."

Steve sighed and lowered his head.

Natasha lowered hers too, "Just because it's the path of least resistance doesn't mean it's the wrong path. What matters is that we stay together, not how we stay together."

"What are we giving up to stay together? I'm sorry, Nat." He mumbled, "I can't sign it."

"I know, Steve." She conceded, accepting that it was not in his nature to sign accords like the ones the governments want them to sign.

He looked up at her, "Why did you come?"

"I don't want you to be alone," she confessed, rubbing his back to reassure him.

X

The two of them exited the church, Steve joining Sam and Kagome in silence while Natasha quickly disappeared into the crowd. He spotted Peggy's niece, and nudged Kagome lightly, "I'm going to go talk to her."

Kagome nodded, "I'll stay with Sam." She told him quietly, smiling sadly.

Steve walked over the cobblestone path in London to reach her, glancing up at the cloudy sky quickly. The smaller blonde girl turned around, and Steve went to greet her.

"Hey, I'm-" He started.

She cut him off quickly with a wave of her hand, "Mr. Rogers. Aunt Peggy used to talk about you all the time. I'm Sharon, Peggy's niece."

"Sharon, I-I'm sorry for your loss," He apologised solemnly.

She nodded slowly, "And I'm sorry for yours, I knew she meant a lot to you."

"Thank you, ma'am. It was an honour to meet your aunt." He noticed the clouds in the sky grow darker, it looked like the heavens would open any minute.

"It's just Sharon, please. The weather doesn't look great, I should probably go." She half-smiled, bowing out of the conversation, to head towards her family members.

Kagome watched him stand there, on the cobblestones, as the rain started to come down. Other mourners had sought shelter from the downpour in nearby shops, but Steve just stood there, staring at the sky. Kagome couldn't blame him, she felt like the whole world was burning and all she could do was watch when she reunited with Shippou and found out that Inuyasha, her first love and eventual best friend had died. She knew that it felt like you were in insolation, that nobody could possibly understand your pain. But she understood, she understood all too well. She made her way over to him slowly, making no effort to avoid the rain. She came up behind him and put a hand on his shoulder tenderly, "I know it feels like you're drowning, but trust me, you'll learn to swim."

X

Natasha had taken the quinjet alone to Vienna, with Vision, Tony and Rhodey having already signed the document. The nine hundred and fifteen mile journey flew by in just under an hour and a half. On the flight she had changed out of her black, funeral attire and into a purple blazer and skirt to wear at the signing.

She now stood proudly at the signing in the UN building in vienna. A woman in a grey suit called for her, "Miss Romanoff! I need your signature here!"

Natasha quickly scanned the paper, before taking the pen and scribbling her signature onto the dotted line at the bottom, "Thank you."

She turned around again quickly, her ginger hair brushing lightly over her purple blazer as she heard somebody else start to speak to her. A man that she quickly identified as the prince of Wakanda, T'Challa, had turned around from staring out of the window and into the streets. "I suppose neither one of us is used to the spotlight," He grinned.

They walked towards each other slowly, "Well, it's not always so flattering." She responded, smiling.

He nodded, "You seem to be doing alright so far. Considering your last trip to Capitol Hill I didn't figure you'd be comfortable here."

She shook her head slowly, "I'm not."

"That alone makes me glad you are here, Miss Romanoff." He said, meeting her blue eyes.

"Why?" She raised one eyebrow, "You don't approve of this?"

"The accords, yes." He sighed, "The politics, not so much. Two people in a room can now get more done than a hundred."

His father, king T'Chaka, walked up behind Natasha and smiled, "Unless you need to move a piano."

"Father," The prince greeted, cracking a smile.

"Son," He smiled back, "Miss Romanoff." He acknowledged her with a nod of his head.

"King T'Chaka, please allow me to apologise for what happened in Nigeria." She bowed her head, her ginger curls gliding over her shoulders.

"Thank you, thank you for agreeing to all this. I am sad to hear that Captain Rogers will not be joining us today." He sighed.

"Yes, so am I. I still have faith the others can be swayed with time." She nodded.

A voice rung out over the speakers, "Will everyone please be seated, the assembly is now in session."

The three shared a nod, Natasha and T'Challa returning to their assigned seats as the King of Wakanda made his way to the stand.

"When stolen Wakandan vibranium was used to make a terrible weapon, we in Wakanda were forced to question our legacy," He started, speaking with confidence and wisdom, "Those men and women killed in Nigeria were part of a goodwill mission, to help us reach out to other countries. People were injured, civilians, our citizens, and I have heard even a member of the Avenger's team itself was caught in the blast. We will not let the misfortune of this event drive us back, we will continue to strive for a safer world. I am grateful to the Avenger's for supporting this. Wakanda extends its hand towards peace." He smiled at his audience.

T'Challa gazed out of the window again, looking down at a news van. He frowned as he noticed the police dogs start to bark and the policemen themselves start to run from the van.

He rose from his seat and ran desperately towards his father, his pulse beating rapidly, "EVERYBODY GET DOWN!" He screamed, as the deafening blast went off.

X

Sam walked over to the two standing in the rain, a sombre look on his face, "There's something you guys gotta see."

Kagome and Steve turned to him, concerned. Sam's phone had been buzzing crazily with urgent news reports flooding in.

"What is it, Sam?" Steve frowned.

Sam pulled out his phone quickly, opening a video of a news report. The reporter spoke quickly, images of a raging fire coming from a building filling the screen.

"A bomb hidden in a news van ripped through the United Nations building in Vienna. More than 70 people have been injured. At least 12 are dead, including Wakanda's King T'Chaka. Officials have released a video of suspect James Butchanan Barnes, the Winter Soldier, who they believe to be behind the attack. Barnes is an infamous HYDRA agent, linked to numerous political assassinations and various acts of terrorism."

Steve gulped, "Bucky," he whispered slowly.

Kagome looked up at Steve, before turning her attention to Sam, "What now?"

"We get to Vienna," Steve told her firmly, his resolve hardening.

Kagome only nodded in response, 'seventy people injured, twelve dead. I can't let anyone else die, it hurts so much to see this happen so often. The world has new evils, and I'm going to be there to destroy them.' She thought, her mind racing with determination.

X

 **A/N: wow, I've been updating everyday so far, that's pretty damn good! Sharon isn't going to be given as 'big' a role in this story as in the films, just so you guys know!**


	26. Chapter 26

The Will Of The Free

 **A/N: Welcome back! Hope you enjoy this chapter, please leave a review at the end!**

"We'll use the quinjet we took to get here. If we fly fast enough we can get to Vienna in under an hour." Steve told her, all three of them now walking through the streets of London at a fast pace. They arrived at the hotel they had put the quinjet on the roof of.

It was an expensive looking place, some of those that attended Peggy's funeral were there seeking shelter from the rain. A receptionist attempted to get their attention by waving to them, "You can't use the higher floors if you haven't signed in!" She yelled desperately.

"We don't have time to sign in!" Sam called back to her, jogging quickly up the stairs.

Steve overtook Sam quickly, while Kagome stayed further behind, being careful not to trip in the small black heels she had chosen to wear. Eventually they arrived on the roof, Kagome trailing behind as she stepped slowly towards the sleek black jet waiting atop the building for them.

Steve pulled the door open with a mechanical clang, allowing Kagome and Sam to step in before him. The inside of the quinjet was much like the outside, dark and sleek. The plane had several seats in the back of it, all made out of a comfortable leather. Inside the jet it was fairly cool, the weather in London wasn't something Kagome would call 'warm.' The door closed with another slam, and Steve walked over to the front of the jet.

His knowledge on modern technology was limited. Though he had tried to catch up, seventy years of progress was a lot to process. He stared in mild confusion at the dashboard on the jet. Bright orange, blue and red flashing lights stared back at him, he hadn't the slightest clue what any of them did.

Sam sighed, watching Steve narrow his eyes at the dashboard. He strolled over to the front of the jet, standing beside Steve. "You fossil," Sam chuckled and Steve smiled in return. He pressed a button and typed the coordinates of the United Nations centre in Vienna into the system. He set the switch to autopilot, Sam knew that none of them were particularly skilled with a plane, 'Steve crashed into the ocean and didn't come out for seventy years, like hell I'm gonna let him fly,' he thought. He clicked another switch, setting the plane to maximum speed.

The two of them walked back into the main body of the jet, both taking a seat on the leather chairs as the jet started to take off for Vienna.

"We should land in forty-five minutes," Sam predicted, "We should check if Nat's alright, I don't agree with her on the accords but I don't want her hurt."

Kagome nodded, "Has Wanda signed?"

Steve shook his head, "No, only Tony, Natasha, Vision and James have." He glanced up at the ceiling of the jet, "I don't think she will. I don't think the rest of us will while we have a choice."

She understood, freedom was a huge part of the American culture, or was before Steve had come out of the ice. 'It must be difficult to adjust, the country he fought so hard to protect is now forcing him to do something he thinks is wrong.' She thought. Kagome took in a deep breath, "The accords are using fear to take away our freedom. I've just gotten mine back, I don't want the government to decide what I do ever again. Being under somebody's control, being somebody's puppet, is horrible."

Steve agreed, "We should have the freedom to go where the people need us, not where the government want us."

Sam leaned his head against the cold wall of the jet, "I'm gonna try to sleep."

Kagome laughed, "We're on the jet for forty-five minutes, Sam."

He smiled back, "I gotta get my beauty sleep." Within minutes of him saying that, his eyelids had dropped closed and his breathing had evened out.

"Does he always do this on flights?" She asked with an amused look.

"Pretty much," Steve sighed, "Are you feeling better after what happened in Lagos?"

"I can't even feel the pain anymore, I'm fine." She too leant her head back against the wall.

"You know, you scared me," He confessed with a small smile, "When Wanda said you went to the building that collapsed I panicked. I saw the building go up in flames, and when this man yelled out that he had found somebody under the wreckage, I was so glad to see that you were still alive. I pulled the concrete off you and you just grabbed me and whispered my name. I was just so, so glad to see that you were alive."

Kagome just smiled in response, a light blush covering her cheeks.

X

Natasha had quickly made her way out of the building, her eyes wide with shock as she saw bodies around her, including that of the wakandan king. The site had only truly started swarming with officers about half an hour afterwards. Before they had arrived she had gotten as many people as possible out of the building, and was left to her own devices once the CIA had arrived.

Sharon Carter, the girl from Peggy's funeral, had landed in Vienna. She was working with the CIA in a joint terrorism task force and had been assigned as a leading officer on scene. She had quickly changed out of her funeral attire, and though it hurt her to have so little time to mourn, she pushed on with her job anyway. Natasha could hear her shouting orders at fellow agents, "Call MI6, I want micro-forensics as soon as possible. We need the whole team here in two hours or it's not worth it."

Sharon and her agents had passed T'Challa, who was sitting despairingly on a bench. Natasha spotted him, and quickly dusted the debris from her blazer as she made her way towards him. He had a shallow cut on his temple, the blood from which had caked the collar of his shirt. He breathed in deeply. When she left the building, when members of the terrorism task force came into remove the bodies, the young prince had to be removed from his father's body.

She sat down on a nearby bench and looked at him apologetically, "I'm very sorry."

T'Challa stared ahead of him, a small ornate silver band clutched tightly in his hands, "In my culture, death is not the end. It's more of a stepping-off point, you reach out with both hands and you are lead into the green veldt, where you run free forever."

Natasha nodded, using one hand to wipe some of the black dust off her face, "It sounds very peaceful."

T'Challa cast his eyes downwards to the ring, "My father thought so." He slipped the ring onto his finger, "I am _not_ my father."

Natasha could instinctively sense his growing need for revenge, "T'Challa, the task force will decide who brings in Barnes."

He clenched his fist tightly, "They need not bother. I have decided. I will kill him." T'Challa told her, looking he in the eye for the first time since the explosion. He stood up, giving her a small nod, and walked away.

X

The plane ride came to a halt as they landed on the roof of an abandoned building that was up for renovation.

The windows of the building had gone, leaving only holes in the plain brick walls where they once were. There was a creaky, unstable looking wooden staircase running through the building that lead to the bottom floor. There was no furniture in the building, the entire place just screamed 'desolate.'

Sam awoke with a snort as the plane jolted to a stop, "What the hell?" he murmured softly.

Steve walked to the front of the jet, turning the switches off again, "This is the closest we could land to the UN building." He explained.

Sam was now fully awake, "We're gonna stick out like a sore thumb if we wear all black, there's some clothes in here somewhere-" he said, pulling open a grey bag that had been disregarded in the corner of the jet. Sam handed a leather jacket, deep blue hat and sunglasses to Steve, pulling out another hat and pair of sunglasses for himself and quickly put them on, both himself and Steve taking off the tuxedo jackets they had worn for the funeral.

"Higurashi," Sam called her, "This'll probably fit you, I think it's Nat's." He said, pulling out a pale blue bomber jacket.

Kagome took it from his hands and slipped it on, "Ready to go?"

Steve nodded, "I'll call Nat, you two stay at the small café half a block away from the site, I'll meet you two there." With that, he slid the door open to reveal the dusty rooftop they were on. The three of them eyed the stairs, and walked carefully down them.

Kagome's heels sunk slightly into the rotting wood and she muttered under her breath, "ew."

Sam winced at the sight of the place, "What the hell kind of building did we land on?"

They reached the bottom floor quickly, despite having to go rather slowly on the stairs.

X

Natasha's phone started ringing seconds after T'Challa's departure. She sighed as Steve's phone number lit up the screen.

"Yeah?" She answered, holding the phone between her head and her shoulder as she continued to dust off her blazer, though she doubted the black smoke stains would come out.

" _You alright?"_ Steve asked in a concerned tone. He was standing a while away, and he could roughly see her form on the green bench.

"Ah, yeah, thanks. I got lucky." She paused as she stood up, now holding the phone with one of her hands. "I know what Barnes means to you but _please_ stay out of this, Steve. You'll only make things worse if you don't, please stay home."

Steve sighed, _"Are you saying you'll arrest me?"_

He could hear the sirens of a fire truck headed to the building to finish off the fire head past on Natasha's end.

"No." She answered finally, "But if you get involved, someone will."

" _He's this far gone, Nat. I should be the one to bring him in."_

"Why?" She asked, a frown marring her usually blank face.

" _Because the rest of you would die trying."_ He watched her from afar, and pulled the phone away from his ear to disconnect the call.

Natasha cursed under her breath, 'he's going after Barnes.' She thought sourly.

X

Kagome sat in the café with Sam opposite her. He was stirring his coffee quietly, all of his attention focused on the drink on the table in front of him.

Kagome's mind, however, was elsewhere. 'What does not signing the treaty mean for me? If I did, would they try to take away the jewel? Would they try to weaponize me?' she thought, one hand reaching out to fiddle with the jewel strung around her neck. 'One little object has so much power, and I can't let a cursed jewel like the shikon no tama get into the hands of people willing to abuse it.'

The café was fairly busy, some of the survivors of the bombing had taken refuge inside the small shop, various cuts and bruises on their body.

When Steve walked through the door, he was stuffing the phone into a pocket on the inside of his leather jacket. Sam didn't bother to look up from his coffee at him, but Kagome ceased her nervous fiddling of the jewel sitting at the base of her neck to listen to them both.

"She told you to stay out of it, didn't she?" Sam predicted, "You know, she might have a point."

"He'd do it for me." Steve told him.

Sam looked up to glance at Kagome through his shades, "Barnes is his friend from the war. He was brainwashed by HYDRA, a branch of the nazi movement. He's a rogue killing machine." He summarised.

Kagome absorbed the information, "Do you think he can be saved, Steve?" She asked, her mind instantly bringing her back to images of Kohaku, who was controlled by Naraku for two years, she thought next of Kagura, who could use the dead as puppets to trick others. Lastly, she thought of herself being controlled and temporarily paralysed by Akago, the baby that held Naraku's demonic heart. She knew it was a terrible experience to be brainwashed, controlled, manipulated and trapped. She had watched Sango live in fear that her baby brother would be killed, or that she would have to kill him. She had seen what

Steve nodded, "I know he's still my best friend from Brooklyn, I know he can be saved." He looked at Sam, "He'd do it for me."

"In the 1940s maybe! We need to weigh our options, the people who shoot at you usually shoot at me too!" Sam whispered.

A person the trio recognised from Peggy's funeral walked into the café and stood next to their table.

"Sharon?" Steve asked, eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"I thought I saw you here." She told him, looking at the menu written in white chalk on the wall.

"What are you doing here?" He asked another question, glancing at her quickly.

"Joint CIA terrorism task force. Tips have been pouring in about Barnes' location since the news broadcast. This is the one I think you should look at." She handed him a brown folder, sliding it onto the table.

"Find him." She told him.

"Thank you, Sharon." Steve smiled warmly.

She sighed in response, "Be quick, we have orders to shoot first and ask questions later." She left the café quickly, returning to her CIA taskforce.

Kagome looked up at him, "The girl from the funeral?"

"She's CIA now," Steve told her, "Finish your coffee Sam, we've got a soldier to find."

X

 **A/N: Two updates in one day! Wow! I may not be able to update tomorrow but I will try, PLEASE REVIEW THEY KEEP ME MOTIVATED TO UPDATE! PLEASE REVIEW!**


	27. Chapter 27

The Will Of The Free

 **A/N: Welcome back guys!**

"Where would he go?" Kagome asked, the three sitting at a small wooden table in a café.

"Europe? D.C.? Is he even still in Vienna?" Sam asked, frowning.

Steve narrowed his eyes slightly, his mind focused on where Bucky would have gone, "Bucharest, Romania. He always wanted to go, and that's where this," He pointed at the folder Sharon had handed him, "Comes from."

Sam exhaled sharply, "Romania it is." He picked up the warm mug on the table and quickly guzzled its' contents. He set the white cup back down slowly, and stood up. "Back to the quinjet."

X

A man sat cross-legged on his pristine hotel bed, the news blaring about the Vienna attack in the background. He read slowly from a small red book, squinting slightly to read the language.

"Homecoming," He practiced in Russian, "One?" He struggled to pronounce the word, not being overly familiar with the language besides learning from the red book. "One." He repeated, more confidently, "Freight car."

He heard a loud knock on his door and quickly shoved the book into a drawer to conceal it. Zemo approached the door cautiously, lifting his shirt up to reach for a small pistol in his back pocket. The knocking persisted, until a feminine voice yelled out in german, "Mr. Muller! I have your breakfast."

Zemo quickly shoved the gun back into his pocket, and unlocked the door with a small click, "I could smell it before I opened the door, thank you." He said slyly in his native tongue.

"Side of bacon and black coffee, _again_. I could make you something different if you would like?" She asked.

"It's okay, this is wonderful." He sighed, holding the door.

She tried to enter the room, "I'll put this on your.."

Zemo pushed her backwards using the door, and took the tray from her, "No thank you, I can manage."

X

Kagome followed Steve and Sam up the stairs at a slow pace, mindful of the decaying oak stairs that her heels were sinking through as they made their way up to the roof.

She gasped as her heel plunged straight through the rotting wood, leaving bloody marks around her exposed ankle. She quickly brought her arm to rest on the shoulder of the person in front of her as she pulled her foot out from the hole she had just created in the stairs.

Steve turned around, feeling Kagome's hand grasp his shoulder tightly, "You okay?"

"Yeah," She winced, "These stairs are falling apart."

"This whole place is falling apart," Sam chuckled, finally reaching the roof.

Kagome and Steve came up the stairs shortly after, both looking at the quinjet. Sam pulled the door open, "Bucharest." He muttered, heading to the control panel.

Sam hit the switches that Steve had turned off back on again, the control panel flashing with small blue and green lights to signify various things. He turned the autopilot on, and set the course to Romania. "We can make half-an-hour to Bucharest if we're lucky." Sam wrinkled his nose, "I just hope we find a better place to land."

"Me too," Kagome agreed, looking at her grazed ankle.

"I'm going to suit up, the German task force will probably be arriving there shortly after us. There's even the possibility that they're there already." Steve told them seriously, leaving the main part of the quinjet to go into a small room at the back.

Sam turned to Kagome, "How'd you do it? How'd you get Fury to give up testing you after one mission?"

Kagome's face hardened slightly, "I was expected to do the same job as the rest of you but without my freedom, I want to help people. If I can make a difference, I should. But I want to do it my way, I was sick of being told that I'm not trustworthy or that I need to be kept locked up."

Sam nodded, "You heard about SHIELD falling?"

Kagome furrowed her eyebrows, "No?"

He sighed, "After the invasion in New York, Steve and Natasha went on a mission. It went a bit sour, and when they got home they found out that HYDRA had infiltrated SHIELD, our enemy was technically part of our own organisation. Fury faked his own death. Eventually, Steve caught up to the Winter Soldier. Bucky, that's what he calls him. They were friends their entire lives before he went into the ice. Steve lost Bucky, Bucky was made into a HYDRA experiment, his brain was in the blender. Bucky saved Steve's life, he didn't have to do that. SHIELD has been slowly rebuilding, as you can tell, Fury's trying to make a power grab, with the reformed World Security Council and get the Avenger's back under control. Other people have the same idea and now we're probably going to be forced to sign the accords." Sam summarised.

"Do you think Bucky can be saved?" She asked softly.

"He saved Steve, but I don't know if that much damage to his mind can ever be undone." Sam winced.

Kagome glanced away from him, 'Kohaku could be saved. He went through so much abuse, Naraku forced him to kill his own family and it nearly tore him and his sister apart. But he survived. Kagura wanted her freedom from Naraku's manipulation, she was saved, but only by death. I was under Akago's control. I felt numb and confused as he told me I was darker than everybody thought I was. If there's a chance Bucky can be saved, we should take it.' She thought.

Steve emerged from the room shortly thereafter, dressed in his Captain America uniform.

X

He smiled peacefully as his gloved hands picked up six deep blue plums. He asks the vendor how much it would be to buy them. He makes his payment quickly in cash, and jogged lightly to a crossroad.

He paused there for a moment to put the plums gently into a bag, before he looked up again.

His calm face turned into a frown as he noticed a newspaper vendor staring at him from across the busy Romanian street.

Their eyes met for a brief moment and the vendor stood up, stumbling backwards. The vendor's eyes widened as he sprinted out of the stall, desperately pushing his way through the large crowd.

He walked quickly over to the now abandoned stall, looking over his shoulder before he did so to make sure nobody was following him. The stall that the vendor had abandoned sold newspapers and blue tourist guides. Bucky leaned over the counter and grabbed the top newspaper. His lips parted in shock as he read the headline, 'WINTER SOLDIER CAUTAT PENTRU BOMBARDMENTUL DIN VIENA'. He instantly recognised what it meant in English, it read, 'Winter Soldier searched for because of bombing in Vienna.' He threw the newspaper over the counter in anger and started storming off in the direction of his apartment.

X

They landed on top of an apartment building, it was a small, cramped place, but it was better than their last landing spot.

"This'll do." Sam sighed. Over the course of the flight, both Sam and Kagome had changed into the uniforms they used when they were fighting in Lagos.

Kagome looked scathingly at her jumpsuit, 'Do these zips not go any higher?' she grumbled internally.

Steve pulled the door open, so they could leave the quinjet on the roof. He gazed out into the city, seeing tiny buildings that paled in comparison to the skyscrapers of New York, 'I'm going to extract Bucky." He told them, "You both have comms. We're lucky that we landed on the right apartment building." He referenced the pictures of Bucky that Sharon had given him, they were taken of him at this apartment building, in number 12.

"We'll stay on the roof. I'll let you know if the taskforce is onto us." Sam said, glancing quickly down at the keypad on his arm.

Steve nodded at the two, and turned around to run down the small, narrow set of stairs that lead onto the apartments.

X

Steve wouldn't exactly describe number 12, Bucky's apartment, as homely. There were a few scraps of wallpaper near the small fridge, and the rest of the walls were brown, some having green splashes over them. Wires hung freely from the ceiling, almost hitting his head on the way in. The armchair in the middle of the room was caked in dust, the place was a mess. There were three windows in the room, two with thin curtains blocking some of the light and one where the curtain was practically disintegrating. An old mattress lay in the corner, with just a light tartan blanket over it.

He walked over to the fridge and picked up a small, leather-bound book that was resting on top of it. One of the pages was marked with a yellowing post-it note. Steve flipped the book open with a gentle push to that page, to reveal a picture of _him_ , dressed in his Captain America uniform, giving a salute to the camera.

" _Heads up Cap, German special forces approaching from the south!"_ Sam told him sharply over the radio.

" _All armed, and there's a lot of them."_ Kagome followed Sam's statement up with one of her own.

"Understood." Steve replied, acknowledging their information.

There was a figure standing behind him, dressed in a red jumper, a dusty black overcoat and a hat he used to cover his head. Steve turned around quickly, sensing the other presence. He closed the book with a snap and pushed it back onto the fridge. "You know me?" Steve asked.

Bucky stared at him, "You're Steve, I read about you in the museum."

" _They've set the perimeter!"_ Sam exclaimed.

"I know you're nervous," Steve paused, "And you have plenty of reason to be, but you're lying."

Bucky shook his head, his brown locks sweeping against his neck as he did so, "I wasn't in Vienna. I don't do that anymore."

Steve took a step towards him, "Well, the people who think you did are coming for you."

" _Steve quick, they're entering the building and oh my god, Sam! They have a helicopter!"_ Steve could hear Kagome's voice over the comm, frantically ushering him to get Bucky and go.

"They're not planning on taking me alive, are they?" Bucky asked with a resigned smile.

"No, Buck. They're not," Steve sighed.

" _They're in the building, Cap. Good luck."_ Sam told him.

X

"Sam, they have a chopper. And by the looks of it, they're planning to land right where we are!" Kagome quickly dived back into the quinjet, rummaging around until she found one of Clint's unused bows.

"They're in the building, Cap. " Sam muttered over the radio as he watched the special forces team swarm the bottom floors. He spread the metal wings on his back. "Kagome." He looked at her, and grasped her hand, "Hold on tight, you didn't seem to enjoy the ride last time."

"I didn't." She groaned, gripping onto Sam tightly. The metal 'feathers' on his back extended as he took off into the air with one swoop, gliding quickly through the sky.

The large metal chopper flew overhead, the blades spinning quickly as it circled the roof of the building. "They're on the roof, we're compromised." Sam told Steve, watching as some members of the special forces team jumped out of the chopper and onto the roof.

X

"It doesn't have to end in a fight, Buck." Steve told him, walking closer to the shadowed figure of his former best friend.

Bucky shook his head, both of them could hear the voices of the German special forces outside the door, "It always ends in a fight."

"You _pulled_ me from the river," Steve confronted him loudly, now not caring about the armed men outside. "Why?" He asked.

Bucky pulled off the dark gloves, to reveal one normal hand, and another made of metal, "I don't know." He sighed.

"Yes, you do." Steve replied firmly, continuing to ignore the voices of the people coming to get them. Seconds later, a metal canister was thrown through one of the windows, smashing the glass. It rolled to a stop near Bucky's feet, he sent a kick towards the canister, and Steve trapped it under his vibranium shield.

The noise from the blast was a whiny, high pitched sound that made them both wince. Steve withdrew his shield from the ground, and only a circular pile of ash was left of the bomb.

The police on the outside hammered against the door a battering ram, yelling orders at each other in german as they did so. Bucky pulled the old mattress off the floor and pressed it against one of the windows, where a single shot had been fired. He picked up a small table and hurled it against the door, barricading the special forces out. The remaining glass on the windows was shattered with a crash as two members of the taskforce swung into the apartment using ropes from the roof. One opened fire quickly, the other was flung into the wall almost instantaneously by Bucky.

Pulling a rug out from the firing agent's feet, Steve got him on the ground and quickly hit him unconscious with one swing of his shield.

The two agents lay unresponsive on the ground and Steve turned to stop Bucky from leaving, "Stop, you're going to kill someone!"

Bucky clenched his jaw tightly and knocked Steve to the ground with a harsh shove, "I'm not going to kill anybody," he responded with a quiet snarl, before shoving his hand into the wood next to Steve's face, breaking the fragile planks.

He pulled out a grey backpack from under the floorboards, tearing up even more of the planks as he did so. He chucked the backpack with a powerful swing out of the smashed window and onto the roof of a nearby building.

More bullets rained down on the pair, and Steve quickly brought his shield up to protect himself and Bucky.

Bucky pushed Steve through the broken window and onto a small balcony outside, where he knocked another german agent unconscious.

Bucky walked forwards with a grimace as he used his metal hand to shield himself from the bullets that were fired in rapid succession in his direction. He grabbed the agent by the collar and thrust them into the wall, creating a hole in the plaster. He span around, grabbing a concrete brick to chuck at another hostile heading his way.

Steve wrestled with another agent, before throwing them to the other side of the balcony and running back into the apartment. The german special forces had fired shots on the door hinges so that it fell down with an incredible 'thunk' onto the floor of the apartment. Bucky picked up the door and used it to swing at the agents on the narrow, winding staircase that ran through the building. He punched and kicked his way through the door, flipping more people over onto the concrete staircase.

Glass from a skylight rained down on his body as an agent zip-wired in from the roof, loading a heavy-duty rifle. Bucky grabbed the front of the gun with his metal hand, and slammed the man into the wall, the zip-wire breaking as he violently ripped the agent from it. He grabbed the discarded battering ram that they had previously attempted to use to get into the apartment and swung it blindly at the hostiles in close range, knocking them into unconsciousness. He grunted as he heard the order for more of the special forces to go up the stairs. Bucky fought with every person in his path as he made his way downstairs. Steve ran out onto the stairs, eyeing the unconscious men with a frown. One man was sat huddled next to the doorway, shouting into a walkie-talkie to tell his men that the subject had escaped from containment. Steve ripped the walkie-talkie in two, and glared at the man, before jumping over the centre of the stairwell to get to the other side. Steve quickly reached the same level as Bucky, who was struggling to fight three people at once.

The Winter Soldier threw one of them over the railing, into the centre of the stairwell. Steve reached out and grabbed the agent's collar before he could fall to his death, "Come on, Buck." He grinned, pulling the agent up and throwing him into a wall. The two continued to run down the stairs, taking care of anyone in their way. Bucky looked at Steve with a haunted expression, before he used one of the stair railings to throw himself over the side.

Steve grabbed his shield from the ground with a grunt, and ran to lean over the railing. Bucky grabbed another part of the railing to pull himself up to that level. Steve started sprinting down the stairs after him.

X

Kagome huffed, dangling from the sky by Sam's hand, " _Please_ let me down!"

Sam chuckled, "Nah, not yet. We need to keep an eye on the ground."

Kagome looked down at the ground, instantly feeling weird, "We can do that from the ground!"

X

 **A/N: Sorry I couldn't update yesterday, I was busy. As promised, I have updated today! PLEASE REVIEW THEY KEEP ME MOTIVATED!**

 **Also, I'd like to say where in the film I want this story to end at. It's going to end with the airport scene, and I might do a final chapter set before infinity war? What do you think, I'm planning to tie all the loose ends up in the final chapter (Set after Civil War) Also, the Romanian translation is only roughly accurate!**

 **PLEASE REVIEW**


	28. Chapter 28

The Will Of The Free

 **A/N: I had this chapter prewritten but it decided to delete itself yikes! Also, updates will be once a week on Saturdays/Sundays from now on!**

A neon green light coming from a fire escape sign lit up the dark staircase. Bucky spotted the sign and ran through the narrow concrete corridor below it, never looking back. He stopped abruptly as the corridor came to an end. It lead him to a small external staircase and a balcony. He put his metal arm on the steel railing that would stop people from going over the balcony and falling to their deaths in the crowded streets below. Breathing heavily, he used the strength of his metal arm to propel himself over the side of the balcony.

Weak rays of sunlight hit his face as he fell through the air quickly. Bucky landed with a loud thud on a lower rooftop that was below the balcony.

He grunted as he pulled himself out of the dust. He relaxed slightly, the specialist taskforce were still swarming a building he was no longer in, giving him time to hopefully make his escape. The Winter Soldier made his way, with a slight limp, to the grey backpack he had hurled out of the window of his apartment and onto the rooftop. He pulled the bag onto his back and stretched his arms, feeling a dull pain in them from where he landed unceremoniously on the rooftop. As he started to make his way to the other side of the rooftop, where he could presumably get lost in a crowd and flee Romania, a dark shadow eclipsed his view. The shadow leapt over his body, only to land with an elegant twist right before him.

The man was tall, and covered from head to toe in a black ensemble with silver accents across the chest, legs and arms. The mask of the suit was made of the same black material, and completely covered the man's identity. On top of his head were two 'ears', small, pointy and black. Bucky's only guess was that the man's suit was modelled after a panther.

The man turned to him, no expression was conveyed through the thick mask covering his face, but he spoke with a deep voice, "You will pay for your crimes against the throne."

Bucky started to walk backwards, a frown spreading across his face. He didn't respond to the man's comment and continued to slowly walk back.

The man stalked towards him, small knives that looked like claws protruding from his gloved fingertips. Suddenly, he rushed forwards, making swipe after swipe at his enemy. Bucky dodged the attacks narrowly, the claws missing his face by a fraction of an inch. With a coldblooded hiss, the hostile man launched himself at Bucky, tackling him back onto the dusty ground.

X

Steve ran swiftly down the stairs after his former best friend, following his path onto the balcony, "Sam, southwest rooftop," he called to his friend, putting a hand to his ear to activate the communication device.

Sam activated his communicator, and before he started to speak Steve could hear a small voice insisting that she be put down on the ground, "Who the hell's the other guy?" Sam narrowed his eyes, flying around the apartment building, one of his arms dedicated to holding Kagome in the air.

"I'm about to find out." Steve walked backwards into the small corridor, before breaking into an inhumanly fast sprint towards the balcony railing. He flew through the air like Bucky had just minutes before him, before his body collided with the hard concrete rooftop. Steve groaned as he pulled himself up, panting heavily after the fall.

He looked to the far side of the rooftop, he narrowed his eyes in concern as he watched Bucky struggle underneath a man in a black suit. The man went to hit his enemy, his powerful claws clashing against metal instead of tearing through skin.

X

The chopper had been circling around the apartment building like a hawk over the body of its prey. It had been flying steadily in a circle until the pilot noticed the commotion on a nearby rooftop. "Hey," He grabbed the attention of the gunner positioned in the back, a specialist sharpshooter with orders to shoot on sight. The pilot turned the gearstick on the control panel slowly, turning the chopper in the direction of the rooftop. The blades span around quickly as the chopper made its way towards the pair exchanging blows on the rooftop.

Seizing his opportunity, the gunman began to open fire, bullets started to stream down onto the rooftop, embedding themselves in the thick concrete. Bullets ricocheted off T'Challa's armour, as he stood proudly above Bucky's subdued body.

X

"Sam, now!" Steve signalled for him to intercept the chopper. Sam looked down at Kagome, who didn't appear to be thrilled at being in the air again.

"Just do what you did in Lagos and it'll all work out," Sam flew closer, "Watch out for the guy in the cat suit, he doesn't seem to like us very much."

Kagome breathed in deeply, trying to steady herself, "Okay, just like in Lagos."

"Whenever you're ready?" Sam glanced down at her quickly.

"Ready," She inhaled sharply as Sam relinquished his tight hold on her arm, sending her falling at an alarming speed towards the concrete rooftop.

Steve sprinted towards her falling form, catching her in his arms before she could hit the ground, stumbling backwards slightly.

Kagome smiled up at him brightly, a wave of relief flowing over her, "Thanks."

Steve smiled back, letting her slowly to the ground, "Enjoy the flight?"

"Not really-" She started, but was interrupted at the start of her complaint by a thunderous clang as Sam kicked the side of the chopper, sending it flying off course before the bullets the sharpshooter was firing had the opportunity to harm anyone.

Bucky kicked the hostile in the chest, as his opponent was distracted by the mighty noise coming from above them. The powerful kick threw T'Challa back onto the ground. The Winter Soldier then began to make his escape, his heart pounded as he ran to the edge of the rooftop, jumping down onto a lower concrete beam. He was quickly followed by his vengeful attacker, who slid down the once smooth side of the building, his claws cutting through the concrete like a hot knife through butter.

Bucky jumped off the beam, growling in frustration under his breath as his attacker continued to pursue him into the crowed Bucharest streets. His legs felt heavy as he ran through the streets, civilians gasped in horror as the chopper rallied above him. T'Challa matched his target's pace well, almost catching up to Bucky as he struggled to navigate the winding streets.

X

Steve sprinted to the edge of the roof, Kagome following behind as they watched Bucky, with the man in the black suit on his heels, jump over the edge of the building. Steve didn't think twice about jumping off, landing steadily on the concrete. He looked back up to the roof to see Kagome's frowning face.

"I did not fight for my freedom just to die jumping off a roof." She muttered to herself, memories of almost falling down at Mount Azuna flooding through her mind. "For Steve," She told herself, blushing slightly, "For his friend, for his friend that can be saved." She took in a deep breath, her nerves were on fire.

She followed his moves, jumping off the roof with a high-pitched scream as she tumbled through the air.

X

Steve's heart raced as he watched her scream, falling unceremoniously through the air. He rushed to catch her again, his arms reflexively wrapping around her petite form as she landed in his arms. She looked up at him, as she had done before, "I don't want to jump off another building ever again."

He let out a low chuckle, before lowering her to the ground, "Are you okay?"

She nodded, "Go after your friend, I'll catch up to you."

He flashed her a small smile before turning and sprinting to follow Bucky, who had dived into a car tunnel in an effort to lose the man actively pursuing him. Kagome watched him sprint though the streets, her cheeks pink and her stomach fluttering after he held her so close to him.

She snapped out of her thoughts as she realised she needed to get moving to catch him up, and she quickly broke into a sprint.

X

 **A/N: A bit of a shorter chapter this time! PLEASE REVIEW, they keep me motivated!**


	29. Chapter 29

The Will Of The Free

Kagome peered over the railing above an underground highway, watching Steve run past speeding cars. She cursed under her breath, looking around for a stairwell to use. "I'm not jumping again- I've had more than enough of it," She grumbled, spotting a small set of cracked stone stairs leading down onto the underground highway. She dashed down them, through the shadowy corridor and out onto the bustling road.

Shrieking, she dodged a car that nearly drove into her. She shook slightly, as another nearly sped into her. She dove out of the way, her leg scraping against the concrete as she did so. Kagome hissed in mild pain as she pulled herself up off the ground, to see Steve sprinting in between the cars to try to catch up to the man in black that was chasing Bucky.

The three of them were running at what she could only describe as an impossibly high speed, and in an attempt to keep up, she started channelling her energy into her legs, to increase her speed, though it meant her legs and palms were now glowing.

A black car sped up beside her, a blue light flashing wildly as it approached them, "STAND DOWN!" A voice from inside boomed.

Kagome just kept sprinting, though fear was now clouding her mind, it hadn't occurred to her before, but would staying to fight by Steve's side mean that she would lose the freedom she fought so hard to get back?

The car overtook her, instead heading towards Steve, who grunted under his breath when he saw the approaching vehicle.

He dove onto the bonnet of the car, his vibranium shield leaving large cracks in the glass. He ripped the door of the car open, shoving the driver out with another grunt, before pushing the glass out of the car.

The driver of the car lay there helplessly, on the concrete underpass, as Steve gestured for Kagome to get in.

"Come on," He told her, as she sprinted around the side of the car to get into the leather passenger seat. The very second that she slammed the door shut, the car sped down the highway, Steve at the wheel.

Kagome turned to look at him, seeing the sheer amount of determination on his face. "I didn't know you could drive."

"Picked it up a while ago," He muttered, a small smile on his face as he overtook several cars, speeding well over the limit to try to catch up to Bucky.

The ex-assassin himself was leaping over cars, running faster than Kagome thought that any human ever could to try to escape his pursuer, who was leaping from car to car.

A sharp clang followed by a shrill scratching sound on the roof of the car pierced Kagome's ears, causing her to wince. She whipped her head around, gazing in horror at the dented roof of the car, as if an asteroid had crash-landed on the steel car roof.

The scratching of T'Challa's vibranium claws resounded throughout the tunnel, somehow not being drowned out by the screams of innocent civilians, who were rightfully terrified.

"He's on the roof," Kagome whispered to herself, "He's on the roof!" She repeated loudly, looking quickly at Steve, panic visible in her eyes.

From the loud scratching sound, Kagome could determine that their pursuer had decided instead to cling to the back of the car, she placed a hand on Steve's shoulder lightly as she turned around.

Her eyes met veiled black ones as she stared wide-eyed through the back window of the car, into the face of the mysterious attacker.

"Sam, we can't shake him," Steve clenched his jaw. Kagome tightened her hold on his shoulder as she heard sirens start to wail in the distance, signifying the law catching up to them.

"I'm right behind you," Sam grunted through the comm, his voice cracking slightly.

Without any indication, Steve turned the wheel, slamming the rear part of the car into another vehicle. Kagome buried her head into Steve's shoulder as he started to drive through a barricade, following Bucky.

She squinted as she looked up, 'where the hell did he get that motorcycle from?' She asked herself, frowning.

She could hear another distinct 'clank' above their heads- they still were unable to lose him. Kagome gasped, watching the Black Panther leap off the roof, and onto Bucky, who was struggling to restrain him with only one arm.

Sam swooped overhead, pulling the assailant off Bucky, only to find himself lying being used as a climbing frame by said assailant, presumably so he could see where his target had gone. A sudden explosion sent Sam flying backwards, though he was now free of his attacker, to crash into a tiled support beam.

Steve quickly slammed the breaks, sending the car to a screeching halt. He wrapped one arm around Kagome's waist as he jumped out of the car door, before the car had the opportunity to flip over. Kagome coughed, leaning into the strong embrace of whoever was holding her, she opened her eyes, looking up at Steve.

He nodded at her, looking her up and down quickly to make sure she was okay, before sprinting off again.

Kagome stood still, watching as Steve wrestled Bucky's attacker to the ground, before throwing the man clad completely in black ten feet. The attacker stood up, his claws drawn as he rushed towards Steve. She reacted completely on instinct, now doing naturally what took her years to master in the Feudal Era. Kagome had erected a pink, glowing barrier around Steve and Bucky.

Sirens started to close in, getting closer every second that passed, until the police vehicles had made their way to the front of the growing crowd. She dropped her barrier as the assailant retracted his claws.

Kagome stepped forward, closer to Steve, who put his arm protectively in front of her as he glowered at the growing number of police cars.

What Kagome would describe as a grey iron-man landed in front of them, it's palms raised to show two orange circles.

"James Rhodes – war machine," Steve whispered to her, and she nodded in response, silently stepping closer to him.

"Stand down. Now." War Machine's voice was tough, reminding Kagome of Director Fury- who she was sure was not going to be particularly happy about her little run-in with the law. She glanced around, mentally noting the armed men surrounding them.

"Congratulations Captain, you're a criminal." He spoke coldly, sending a shiver down Kagome's spine.

The armed men moved in, forcing all of them to the ground, with guns pointed at their heads.

The Black Panther removed his mask, revealing T'Challa, Prince of Wakanda.

"Your Highness," War Machine nodded.

X

Some half an hour later, Kagome awoke to find herself sat in between Steve and Sam, in an armoured vehicle reminiscent of the one she was thrown into when Steve called Fury, proclaiming her to be an 'alien'.

"So, you like cats?" Sam broke the awkward silence, addressing the man sitting behind the three of them, T'Challa.

"Sam," Steve grumbled, looking down at Kagome to notice she was awake.

"Dude shows up dressed as a cat and you don't want to know more?" Sam shrugged. "So what are you? A furry?"

"Sam!" Kagome hissed under her breath, "The guy almost killed you before, watch what you say."

"Your suit," Steve started, looking at T'Challa, "It's vibranium?"

"The Black Panther is a mantle passed down through my family from generations, from warrior to warrior. Now, because your _friend_ murdered my father, I wear the mantle of warrior and king. I ask you, as warrior and king, how long do you think you can keep your _friend_ safe from me?"

Kagome glanced up at Steve, leaning her head on his shoulder.

X

They stepped out of the armoured truck, unspoken words between her, Sam and Steve hanging in the air. Kagome spotted Bucky, restrained and looking pained in the corner of the hanger.

The four of them, including T'Challa, walked towards the plethora of government agents waiting for them.

"What's going to happen to him?" Kagome asked quietly.

"Same thing that'll happen to you, psychological evaluation and you'll face whatever consequences you're given, Higurashi." Director Fury stepped out from behind Sharon and Secretary Everett Ross.

Kagome instinctively took a step forwards, "I'm a free member of the Avengers- you can punish me for doing what's right but you're never going to be able to control me again." Her eyes met the stony gaze of the director, silently challenging him to go back on his word, to try to control her again.

"You're a free woman, Higurashi. But you're responsible for breaking the accords- and for helping a _criminal_." Fury responded coldly, turning on his heel and walking out.

Kagome turned to Steve, "We did what was right, didn't we?"

He nodded, placing a reassuring hand on her shoulder, "We did."

"Lovebirds," Sam muttered under his breath, pushing past them to follow Ross, Sharon and Fury.

Steve and Kagome shared a quick glance before they, too, started to follow the officials, T'Challa only steps behind them. They made their way through a long glass bridge, leading them from the section they arrived in to a different part of the building.

"You'll be provided with an office, instead of a cell, do me a favour?" Ross started, talking to T'Challa, "Stay in it."

Natasha walked down the bridge to greet them, an icy frown on her face.

"Natasha," Kagome nodded.

" _This_ is what making things worse looks like," The assassin chided, her ginger curls gliding over her shoulders.

None of them replied to her, all three of them taking in the weight of their actions. The glass bridge had led them to a steel room, with armed security guards stationed at every exit. Blue and white lights illuminated the room. Built into the far wall was thirty or so screens, each with a live feed of a different security cameras, a large table sat in the middle of the room, sporting expensive-looking equipment.

And leaning against that grey table was none other than Tony Stark himself, a phone pressed to his ear and a cold grimace on his face.

"Consequences? You _bet_ there will be consequences. You can quote me on that. Anything else? Thank you, sir." Tony spoke quickly, glaring daggers at Steve with a vengeance in his voice. He withdrew the phone from his ear and hung up, taking a moment to sigh before he let Steve speak.

"What do you mean 'consequences'?" Steve frowned, stepping forward.

Tony shook his head slowly, "Secretary Ross wants you and Sam prosecuted. He can't really do anything about Kagome- she's a Japanese citizen with some of the most powerful Japanese businessmen protecting her. I'm doing the best I can."

"I take it I'm not allowed to have the shield back?" Steve ran a hand through his hair, a small smile on his face.

"Impounded," Natasha smirked, "That's government property now. Your wings too, Sam."

"That's cold- even for you, Tasha." Sam huffed, mourning the loss of his beloved wings.

Tony coughed, "Warmer than jail."

"What about my bow?" Kagome frowned, her hands on her hips.

"We can get you a new one- since you're not in the middle of Ross' war path. He'd love to be able to send you two," Natasha pointed at Sam and Steve, "To jail. The Japanese government is basically in the pocket of your rich friends, so it doesn't seem like they'll be pressing charges anytime soon. Ross can't touch you, your lawyers have made a great case for you. SHIELD will ensure another is made for you."

Kagome smiled and nodded her head gratefully, though inside she was panicking. It was obvious by now that Shippou and Sesshomaru would know about her little 'run-in' with the law, and she was bound to have her ear chewed off by Shippou, Sesshomaru would probably scold her silently by sending her a glare. She shivered at the thought of being on the receiving end of Sesshomaru's wrath.

X

Kagome stared at the screens, looking with a frown at the surveillance footage of Bucky- The Winter soldier, the man Steve had risked everything to protect. He was strapped up to a chair- in a glass container. She watched, transfixed, as the container moved forwards, towards a small team of men in lab coats.

As she watched, Steve and Tony talked behind her, both sat at the table.

"A few years ago, I almost lost Pepper. I didn't stop being Iron Man- I couldn't stop being Iron Man. The truth is I don't want to stop- if I do, she's in more danger. I want to protect her, I thought the accords would _help_." Tony sighed.

"I understand Tony-" Steve started.

Tony cut him off, "No, you don't."

Steve leaned forwards, whispering, "Listen, Tony. A while ago, I almost lost _her_ ," He nodded towards Kagome, "It terrified me- I pulled her out of the rubble in Lagos and I didn't know if she was going to make it. I lost Peggy, I'm not going to lose Kagome too. It made me realise, the world needs the Avengers. The world needed her to protect those people in Lagos- and _I_ need to protect her. What if the accords didn't let me be there? You know that she's not an American citizen- she does as she pleases under the authority of _her_ government. What if she went and I wasn't there to protect her because of the accords?"

Tony coughed, looking from Kagome to Steve, "I see how it is."

Steve stood up, as he did so, Kagome turned around. "Let's go," He said quietly, leading her out of the room.

He lead her to a small conference room, which, too, was made of steel. Sam was sitting at the end of a grey table, rolling his eyes at Sharon, who had her back to them.

"Steve- would you _look_ at what they named my baby? _Bird costume?_ Really Sharon?" Sam huffed, staring in mock-anger at the receipt for their weapons.

"I didn't name it," She shrugged, tossing her blonde hair over her shoulder. Sharon picked up a remote, nodding at Steve and Kagome and pressed a small button on it. A security feed of Bucky's psychological evaluation appeared on a screen in the wall.

Kagome once again saw Bucky strapped down to the chair, his dark brown hair hiding his face.

" _Do you know where you are, James?"_ The soft eastern-european accent of the evaluator filled the room.

Steve tensed, seeing his best friend keep his head down, refusing to answer. Kagome turned to him, noticing his stiff posture and took his hand in hers, "It'll be okay," She whispered.

" _I can't help you if you don't talk to me, James."_ The man sighed.

" _My name is Bucky,"_ He responded stonily, lifting his head.

Steve glanced at the infamous black and white picture of 'Bucky' on the day of the congress bombing in Vienna, and then back at the screen, "Why would the task force release this photograph to begin with?"

"To involve as many eyes as we can," Sharon answered, leaning against the table.

"Right. It's a good way to flush a guy out of hiding, to get seven billion people looking for him." Steve sighed, his hand still intertwined with Kagome's.

Sharon narrowed her eyes, "You're saying he's framed?"

"So that someone could find him," Kagome whispered, looking up at Steve.

Sam raised his eyebrows, a look of disbelief on his face, "We looked for him for two years, and we found _nothing_."

"The whole world wasn't looking for him then," Kagome nodded.

"And, we didn't bomb the UN. That turns a lot of heads," Steve continued.

Sharon threw her hands up in the air in exasperation, "That doesn't guarantee that whoever wants to find him gets him. It just means that Bucky is with us."

Kagome frowned, looking at the screen, "What if they're here already? What if we've just put Bucky right into their hands?"

X

"Tell me, _Bucky_ , you've seen a great deal, haven't you?" Zemo smiled, pushing his glasses up his nose as he stared into the face of the Winter Soldier.

"I don't want to talk about it," Bucky said, his gaze unwavering.

"Why? Because you're afraid if you open your mouth the horrors will never stop? Are you afraid to confront what you've done?" Zemo looked down for a second at his phone, the message 'Package delivered,' appearing on the screen. "Don't worry," His grin grew, "We only have to talk about one."

X

The blue and white lights throughout the building went out, leaving them in total darkness. Kagome instinctively squeezed Steve's hand as all the screens, showing Bucky's evaluation went down, leaving static in their place.

From the next room she could hear yelling, agents desperately trying to figure out what happened.

Steve turned around, looking to Sharon, "Where is he?"

"Sub-level five, east wing," She answered, her eyebrows knitted together into a frown. Steve sprinted, pulling Kagome along with him as they dashed down the stairs, Sam following behind them.

They dashed through the floors, finally making it to Bucky's interrogation room. Red lights blared through the corridor, barely illuminating the room. Kagome gasped, the chair that Bucky had been secured too was now in tatters, and the cube-shaped container that the chair was in had one wall missing.

The psychologist sent to evaluate Bucky was lying on the floor, gasping for air, and the Winter Soldier himself was nowhere in sight.

Steve relinquished his hold on Kagome's hand and stepped threateningly towards the man, "Get up." He grabbed Zemo by his collar and pushed him against the wall, "Who are you? What do you want?" He snarled.

"To see an empire fall," Zemo laughed, that Cheshire-cat like grin spreading across his face again.

Sam walked into the room, after checking the corridor for casualties. The second his foot crossed the line and into the evaluation room, the Winter Soldier leapt out of the shadows and used his metal arm to swing at him. Sam desperately tried to land a punch, but as he was unarmed it was useless. The cold metal arm grabbed him by the neck and threw him into the wall.

Steve let go of Zemo, rushing to defend Sam, dodging what would have been crushing blows from the Winter Soldier.

Kagome dashed over to Sam, pulling him off the floor so he could sit up, "Are you okay?"

Sam shook his head and waved off her concerns, "I'll be okay- go help your boyfriend," He smiled.

"He's not my-" Kagome started, before rolling her eyes at him and sprinting after Steve, who was being pushed backwards by Bucky.

The Winter Soldier grabbed Steve by the throat with his normal hand and was about to land a punch to his face with his metal arm when Kagome threw up a wall of energy, sending Bucky flying backwards. But the Winter Soldier came back with a vengeance the second Kagome dropped her barrier, to kick Steve through a set of elevator doors and down the elevator shaft.

She rushed forwards, not paying attention to Bucky, who had taken off. She looked down the dark shaft, seeing Steve lie on his back at the very bottom of it, black ash covering his face.

"Steve?" She called down the shaft, her face showing the deep concern she held. A deep groan from Steve was the only answer she got as he slowly pulled himself up.

"Hey!" She could hear Sam yelling at Zemo, who was trying to make a swift escape. She could have gone after him, and caught him, but she was too wrapped up in her worry over Steve to even consider leaving.

Steve pulled himself up, dropping his leather jacket and started using the ropes within the elevator shaft to pull himself up.

A few minutes later, Steve had made his way up to Kagome, a frown on his face and rope burn on his palms.

"He's headed to the roof," Kagome nodded, pointing at a set of stairs that Bucky had rushed up just minutes earlier.

Steve flashed her a small smile before sprinting up the stairs, and going to the roof.

X

By the time Steve had rushed up to the roof, Bucky was sitting in a dark blue government issue chopper, his hands scrabbling over the control panel. He paused for a moment, his eyes meeting Steve's before the blades started to spin, bringing the chopper into the air.

Steve grabbed the underneath of the chopper, trying to use his weight to bring it back down to the helipad. The plane still carried on, dragging Steve closer to the edge of the helipad. Steve tried to grab onto the ground, desperately attempting to bring the chopper back before it had the chance to take off.

Steve grabbed onto the neon yellow outer-railing of the helipad, his other arm still wrapped tightly around the pole attached to the underside of the chopper.

Bucky slammed a button on the control panel, forcing Steve to let go and dodge the chopper, which had crashed into the edge of the helipad.

The body of the chopper started to slip, edging closer to the edge of the helipad, which was stationed above a river. The Winter Soldier's metal arm broke through the glass of the window of the chopper to wrap itself around Steve's neck, dragging him with the chopper as it started to fall into the river.

X

Kagome sprinted up the stairs, panting, "Why are there so many levels?" She huffed, finally making it to the rooftop. She gasped as she watched a chopper, it's dark blue paint scratched from the impact of crashing into the helipad, slowly tip towards the edge of the helipad, which, she noted, had chunks of concrete missing from it.

The world seemed to move in slow-motion as the chopper slipped over the edge, Steve with it. Kagome let out a scream as she rushed towards the edge of the helipad, only to watch the chopper land in the water.

Moments later, she could see Steve come up from the water, and relief flooded through her. She could vaguely make out his form in the river, Bucky unconscious and in his arms.

He pulled himself out of the river and onto the bank, lying Bucky down.

Sam joined him on the bank, and even from the roof Kagome could tell he wasn't particularly happy.

"I'm not going down those damn stairs again," Kagome muttered. The elevator wasn't an option – Bucky had put that out of commission. "Time to face my fears- _again_ ," She murmured, looking over the edge of the helipad. 'If I jump, I would be able to throw up a barrier to stop me from hitting the water, wouldn't I?' She thought, 'And then, I could just jump to land.'

Taking a deep breath, she launched herself off the helipad, propelling herself towards the water. Kagome extended one hand, feeling the familiar rush of energy to her palm as it glowed pink. The pink energy sprung from her palm to form a barrier underneath her, stopping her from landing in the water. But just because she didn't land in the water did not mean that she landed elegantly- no, she landed on her front, her ribs landing against the barrier and taking most of the force of the land. It felt like she was teetering towards the edge of unconsciousness from the impact, but she knew better. She knew she had to carry on and try to escape, even though she wasn't legally considered a 'criminal'.

Taking a shuddering breath, she crawled up, eventually bringing herself to stand up on the barrier. With a swift jump, she landed shakily on the bank of the river, a few feet away from Bucky's limp form, Steve and Sam.

"Thought we were gonna lose you there," Sam smiled as she approached them.

"Not my best idea, but it worked well enough," She shrugged, turning her gaze to Bucky before looking back up to Steve, who was kneeling beside him, "What do we do with him?"

"I think I have just the place," Sam told them, helping Steve hoist the unconscious Bucky up.

X

Sam's idea of 'just the place' wasn't what Kagome would describe as sanitary, or a good place to keep an unconscious assassin. It was an abandoned storage hanger, full of old equipment from the 50's, and located pretty close to the government building they had been taken to.

Sam had decided that, as a safety precaution, Bucky's metal arm should be held in a tight clamp to prevent him from using it to smash Sam's head in again.

And finally, after half an hour of being clamped down in a grimy warehouse, Bucky began to stir.

He moved his head forward and winced, before opening his eyes to look at Steve's back.

"Hey, cap?" Sam called to Steve, making him turn around to face his best friend.

"Steve," He whispered, his eyes wide and haunted as he struggled with his metal arm.

"Which Bucky am I talking to?" Steve met his gaze, before the war- before any of it, Bucky had never looked that haunted, he was always smiling, always laughing.

Bucky paused for a moment, his dark locks falling over his face, "Your mom's name is Sarah. You used to wear newspapers in your shoes."

Kagome smiled, putting a reassuring hand on Steve's shoulder.

"Can't read that in a museum," He whispered, staring intently at Bucky.

Sam shook his head, "So we cool? The guy tried to kill me less than an hour ago, man."

"What did I do?" Bucky looked up in confusion at Sam.

"Enough," Steve whispered, looking away from Bucky and at Kagome.

Bucky looked down again, shaking his head furiously, "Oh god, I knew this would happen. Everything HYDRA did to me can't be undone – it's still there, the training, the programming, the _words_."

"Who was he, the psychologist?" Kagome asked him softly.

"I don't know," Bucky just kept shaking his head, looking down at the dusty floor.

"People died, Buck. The bombing, the setup. He did it all just to get ten minutes with you, we need more than 'I don't know,'" Steve sighed.

Bucky looked up, "He wanted to know _exactly_ where I was kept in Siberia."

"Why?" Sam frowned, "What the hell's in Siberia?"

"I'm not the only one, I'm not the only Winter Soldier," Bucky whispered.

"Who are they?" Kagome let her hand slide off Steve's shoulder to rest on her hip.

"HYDRA's most elite death squad. And that was before the serum," He answered grimly.

"The doctor said he wanted to see an empire fall-" Steve started.

"With these guys, he could do it," Bucky interrupted, "They speak thirty languages, they're trained in espionage, assassination, infiltration and destabilization. They could bring an empire down in less than a week."

Sam stepped towards Steve, "That would have been great to know _before_ we were criminals."

"Look- we can call Tony-" He suggested, only to be cut off by Sam.

"Why the hell would be believe us? Even if he did, the accords wouldn't let him help us, you know that," Sam muttered.

"We're on our own," Steve whispered, looking at Kagome.

"No, we're not," She smiled, "Shippou and Sesshomaru will help us, I don't doubt Kouga would too."

Sam chuckled, "Don't worry, I know a guy."

Kagome rolled her eyes, "You said you know a place and we end up _here_. An abandoned hanger with half the world's spiders hiding in here."

"I take it you don't like spiders then, Kags?" Sam smirked, spotting one on the floor.

She shuddered as she was instantly reminded of the red, bleeding spider mark on each of Naraku's incarnations backs, "I guess you could say I haven't had the most pleasant experiences with them." She willed herself not to think about it, not to think about all the death and destruction she had seen, all the graves she had helped dig, or all the families torn apart by pure evil. It was a time she valued, but she would do anything to forget.

Sam decided not to press further, noticing how she had suddenly gone pale, as if she was remembering something traumatic, that she would do anything to not relive.

"We're meeting Sharon half way to the airport- she's gotten our stuff from inventory, even a new bow for you," Sam changed the subject, trying to draw her out of her memories.

Kagome shook her head, "How are we getting there?"

"Uh, well, there's a car back there, it's low profile but.." Sam trailed off, staring at the dusty blue beetle parked at the back of the hanger.

Kagome giggled, "Let's get you out of there," She looked at Bucky, gesturing to his metal arm, still trapped within the clamp. She pushed one of her hands underneath the cool metal clamp, and with a small exhale allowed some of her energy to leak into her palm, causing it to glow a bright pink as she used the energy to pull the clamp away from his metal arm, twisting the steel clamp out of place.

She took her hand away and let his metal limb slide out of the clamp, a look of bewilderment on his face, "What are you?" He whispered.

Kagome paused for a moment, 'What _am_ I?' She thought. "Kagome Higurashi." She answered.

Steve smiled, before looking at the beat up car at the back of the garage, "We're getting in that?"

"We're gonna have to have to, man. I got nothing else," Sam shrugged.

"I'll drive," Steve said, walking towards the car.

"And that went so well last time," Kagome murmured, recalling almost crashing several times.

"I call shotgun!" Sam yelled, sprinting towards the passenger seat.

X

 **A/N: Sorry I've been gone for such a long time, this update was 5000+ words, so hopefully that makes up for it. I'm going to be continuing this story over the holidays, and it may be finished by Febuary next year! (Yes, I am planning on moving it into Infinity War territory, but it will be very different from the film and probably won't follow the Avenger's 4 plot at all!)**


	30. Chapter 30

The Will Of The Free

And there Kagome sat, next to an assassin for the entire journey, completely silent. It had taken them about an hour to get there, to the underpass, where Steve had pulled over.

"Sharon said she'll be here soon," Sam told them, leaning back in his seat.

"Can you move your seat up?" Bucky asked, eyeing the back of Sam's head stonily.

"No," He replied, watching Sharon's car pull up to the underpass.

Kagome opened the door, "I'm going to call Shippou," She explained, getting out of the car.

"I'm going to talk to Sharon," Steve got out too, approaching Sharon's car.

Kagome pulled out the phone in her pocket, she was certain SHIELD would be able to track the one they had provided for her even though Fury promised to remove all Spyware, she knew better than to trust him, so she decided to use one that she had bought without their knowledge, specifically so she could call Shippou without being spied on. She called him, waiting a few seconds before the ringing stopped and he picked up.

"Shippou?" She asked.

" _Mom? Are you okay? I heard about what happened in Vienna, the UN bombing, the accords, you getting arrested!"_ She could hear him scrambling about on the other side.

"I'm fine, Bucky's innocent. He was framed- I need your help. We're going to Siberia, there's a man trying to find HYDRA's death squad, there are more Winter Soldiers. Steve, Bucky, Sam and whoever else is coming with us are using the Halle airport in Germany to get to Siberia," She told him quickly.

" _Let me guess? You want me to come with you? It could be dangerous, Mom. I would prefer if demon's remained a mystery, a complete unknown to the human race,"_ Shippou sighed.

"It's not like the Avengers is any more normal than demons, Shippou. I'm a priestess, Wanda's an experiment, Steve and Bucky are super-soldiers, Tony and War Machine are men dressing up as robots, Vision is an android with a rock in his head, Clint and Natasha are assassins, and Sam has a bird costume," Kagome responded, the hand that wasn't being used to hold her phone placed firmly on her hip.

" _I'll come help you, the Halle airport in Germany? I'll be there soon, I could never let anything happen to you, and getting rid of HYDRA's death squad won't exactly do the world any harm. I'm glad you're doing what's right, and I'm glad you're doing it on your own terms, even if it means that you're wanted in half the world."_

Kagome smiled, "Thank you so much Shippou, once this whole mess is over-"

" _I have the feeling that once this whole mess is over, you won't want to leave. And that's okay, Mom. I know you were crushed when you had to leave the feudal era, I just want you to be happy. If being an Avenger, or if being with him makes you happy, I'll support you, because I love you,"_ He said softly, acknowledging that he couldn't stop her, that he would never stop her from being happy.

"I love you too, Shippou," She whispered back, "Thank you, so much." And with that, she hung up, turning her attention back to Sharon and Steve, who were looking at the equipment in Sharon's boot.

Steve's shield and suit, Sam's wings and his other tech were all there, along with her bow, her suit and what she assumed to be Bucky's stuff.

"Oh, I couldn't find any of your arrows," Sharon said, gazing at Kagome.

"It's fine," She smiled, "I don't need them."

Sharon frowned in confusion but didn't press further, turning her attention back to Steve, who was hauling their equipment out of her boot, "James tried to kill me."

Steve shook his head, "Sorry, Sharon. They're going to come for you, you didn't have to do this."

Sharon smiled, "I wanted to do the right thing- I owe it to Aunt Peggy."

"The world didn't deserve her," Steve whispered, looking at Kagome.

Sharon looked from Steve to Kagome, and decided to leave, "I- I'm going to go now, good luck."

X

The rest of the journey to the airport had been just as quiet, and Kagome was thankful the journey was over when they pulled up in the airport parking lot, on level B6. All four of them got out of the small blue beetle, the doors of a nearby white van opening as they did so.

"Cap," Clint called out to Steve, dressed in his suit.

"Clint," Kagome sighed, "Why'd you leave us in Lagos?"

Clint shrugged, a sly smile on his face, "Well, my retirement plan got interrupted."

"I wouldn't have called if I had any other choice," Steve told him, shaking his hand in greeting.

From the other side of the van, the passenger door clicked open, a girl clad in all black with her statement red leather jacket hopping out.

"Wanda?" Kagome smiled, rushing over to envelope the other girl in a hug.

"Oh, Kagome," Wanda sighed, "I missed you." She wrapped her arms around her, both girls relishing in the presence of the other before they split apart.

"Thanks for having my back," Steve nodded at her.

"It was time to get off my ass," She explained with a wave of her hand, dismissing his thanks.

"How about our other recruit?" Steve chuckled, looking around.

"Rarin' to go," Clint grinned, pulling open the back door of the van to reveal a dazed man, lying on the floor, his eyebrows knitted together in confusion.

Sam gritted his teeth as he looked at Scott, he wasn't too pleased with the incident at the base that he had caused, and had yet to hear an apology.

"What timezone is this?" The man yawned, stepping out of the van, before it truly sank in where he was and who he was with. "Captain America," He gushed, reaching out to accept Steve's handshake. "I'm shaking your hand too long," He realised, his eyes still wide after ingesting an ungodly amount of caffeine to 'prepare' himself, "Wow, this is awesome!" He muttered, looking around, at Wanda and Sam, "Woah, I know you guys too," Before his eyes eventually landed on Kagome, "No clue who you are but I'm Scott."

"What's up, Tic-Tac?" Sam looked at him coldly.

"Hey, man," Scott shook his head, "Good to see you, uh about last time I uh.."

"Look, it was a great audition but it'll never happen again," Sam chuckled.

As Sam said that, a motorcycle pulled up beside the van, a man clad in full leather on the back of it.

"Uh, guys? Who's-" Scott started, vocalising the question on everybody's mind.

Kagome smiled, walking towards the motorbike as the man pulled his helmet off, soft ginger curls falling over his face.

"Kagome," He grinned wolfishly, bringing her into a hug, "Thank God you're okay."

"Shippou," She whispered, her sapphire eyes meeting his emerald ones. He had changed so much, in the Feudal Era he had been only a small child, introduced to war, pain and loss far too early in his life. He had depended on her, as if she was his only life line. And now, he made sure she wanted for nothing. He now had shorter, still red, hair and small, tiny freckles dotted around his face. Shippou had grown so much, and she wished she hadn't missed it.

"Gonna introduce me to your friends?" He asked, he could tell her mind was taking her to somewhere else, he knew she missed being in the past so much that he worried it would consume her.

"Sure," She snapped out of her trance-like state, trying to push the image of her Feudal Era friends out of her mind so she could focus on the present.

"Rogers," Shippou nodded at the Captain, a distant look of bitterness in his eyes.

"You already know Steve, this is Clint- he was supposed to be in Lagos but left, Wanda, Sam, and Scott, I think," Kagome introduced them all, "Guys, this is Shippou."

He nodded at them, "This time, I'm here to protect you."

"This time I'm not going to get a building dropped on me," Kagome smiled back, though Wanda flinched as she said it.

"Let's go," Steve told them, "Get your weapons, the airport's being evacuated. They know we're here."

Kagome and Steve shared a brief look, "Stark's here, isn't he?" She whispered.

"Stark?" Shippou interrupted, "Didn't he want to experiment on you?"

"Maybe, I said no to doing any of his tests. I am not an experiment and won't let anyone treat me like one," Kagome responded, hands on her hips.

"It's time to go kick his ass," Shippou smirked.

"Try not to hurt anyone too badly," She muttered, walking towards the group.

X

Without warning, Steve sprinted out into the main yard, headed towards a black chopper in the centre of it.

He stopped, his jaw clenched as he saw War Machine and Iron Man in the air, headed towards him. The two landed in front of him with a metallic clang.

"Wow, it's so weird how you run into people at the airport," Tony rolled his eyes from within the suit, "Isn't this weird James?"

"Definitely weird," James nodded.

Steve sighed, "Hear me out, Tony. The doctor, the psychiatrist, he's behind all of this-" He was interrupted by T'Challa, now dressed as the Black Panther, arriving.

"Captain," T'Challa acknowledged.

"Your highness," Steve greeted him back.

Tony coughed, walking around Steve like a vulture looking at it's prey, "Ahem. Ross gave me thirty-six hours to bring you in, and that was twenty-four hours ago. Help me out and turn yourselves in?"

"You're after the wrong guy," Steve said confrontationally.

"Your judgement is askew, your little friend killed innocent people yesterday," The billionaire spat.

"There are five more super-soldiers just like him. I can't let the doctor find them first Tony, I just can't – to let people like that be used by him would mean far more innocent people die," Steve shook his head. He turned around, hearing the gentle click of heels against the floor of the airport, only to be greeted by the steady gaze of the team's resident redhead assassin.

"Steve, you know what's going to happen, regardless of the super-soldiers. Do you really want to punch your way out of this one?" She remained cool, though inside she knew the answer. He would always do what he thought was 'right', no matter the cost, because that was who he was, and there would be no changing that.

Tony didn't even wait for Steve to reply, they all knew he would keep punching his way out of things until he got what he wanted, "I've had enough of this," He paused, "Underoos!" He yelled.

Suddenly, Captain America's shield was pulled from his hands, and his hands wrapped in a sticky webbing. He looked around, dazed, only to see a red-and-blue blur land on top of the chopper, his shield in hand.

"Nice job, kid." Tony smiled.

"Thanks, well, I could have improved the landing a little, it's just the new suit- well, it's nothing really, it's perfect, Mr. Stark, really-" The newcomer rambled on, looking animatedly at Tony.

"Yeah, we don't really need to start a conversation," Tony dismissed him, looking at Steve.

"Captain," Peter saluted, "I'm a big fan," He pointed to himself, "I'm Spider-man-"

"We'll talk about it later," Tony shrugged him off again.

"You've been busy," Steve remarked.

"And _you've_ been a complete idiot," Tony retaliated venomously, "Dragging in Clint and Wanda, rescuing her from a place she doesn't want to leave, a safe place. And Kagome, too? She's barely been an avenger for two weeks, Steve. I'm trying to keep you from tearing the Avenger's apart."

"You did that when you signed the accords," Steve responded, meeting his gaze.

"Alright, we're done. You're going to turn Barnes over, and you're going to come with us now, because it's _us_. It could be the entire army, and they have no intention of being polite." The billionaire ordered.

" _The quinjet's in hanger five, north runway,"_ Sam's voice rung out through Steve's comm.

Steve raised his hands up, a sleek, black arrow separating the web from his hands. Tony turned around, looking in the direction of the arrow. Peter looked down at his shield, a frown on his face as he spotted what looked to be like a man, only three millimetres tall, running along the edge of Cap's shield.

"Uh- guys, what is-" He started, confused.

Lang pressed a button on his suit, making him grown to normal size to kick Peter off the chopper and retrieve the shield, only to throw it to Steve, "I believe this is yours."

"What the hell was that?" Rhodey whispered to himself.

Tony reacted immediately, "FRIDAY, activate x-ray vision." The screen before his face changed immediately, showing two figures running, "Two on the parking deck. One of 'ems Wanda, I'm going to grab her. Rhodes, you take Spangles." The thrusters on the base of his suit activated, sending him off towards the parking deck.

"I see two in the terminal- Wilson and Barnes," Rhodey nodded.

"Barnes is mine," T'Challa hissed, rushing off to the terminal.

Steve flung his shield at War Machine, knocking him back a few metres or so and he easily caught the shield as it bounced off his metal suit. He then advanced on T'Challa, and used the same tactic to knock him back a few feet.

"Move, Captain." T'Challa demanded, his voice grave.

X

"Shippou, we have to do _something_." Kagome pleaded.

"Kagome, we have to get the quinjet so we can get our team out of here, or, if worst comes to worst, just us," He replied.

"Shippou-"

"Listen, Mom," He whispered, "Loyalty is a choice, and I don't think I'll ever understand what compels you to be loyal to Steve Rogers, but you are. And what he needs right now is that jet. I'll grab the jet, you go help him, looks like he needs it," Shippou grinned.

"Thanks, Shipp. Watch out for T'Challa, he wants Bucky dead," She warned, dashing off towards Steve.

X

"I won't ask a second time," T'Challa growled, sending a kick towards Steve, who blocked it easily with his shield.

Meanwhile, Scott was dealing with Natasha, "Look, I really don't want to hurt you."

"I wouldn't stress about it," She replied, kicking him in the groin and twisting his arm back, but he quickly pressed a button on his palm to miniaturise. He landed on her wrist, and used his momentum to flip her over, onto the ground.

T'Challa's claws narrowly missed Steve's head, instead scratching his shield. Black Panther made another attempt to strike him that was quickly stopped by a pink dome forming around Steve.

Steve turned around, looking with a smile at Kagome, who was a few feet away with her palms, now glowing pink, raised.

Kagome dropped the barrier as she noticed War Machine reach for a metal object from his back. It was sword-like, but with glowing yellow stripes on it.

"This won't kill ya, but it ain't gonna tickle either," Rhodey muttered, advancing towards them.

As she dropped the barrier, T'Challa kicked Steve backwards, and he fell at her feet. Rhodey, however, saw this as an opportunity to strike, raising the club above his head to try to bring it down on Steve, but Kagome erected a quick barrier to stop it before he got the chance to hit Steve. The energy from the barrier had completely fried Rhodey's 'sword', leaving it completely useless.

Scott had managed to escape Natasha's grasp, to throw a small blue disc in the air, and then what looked to be a miniature truck directly after it.

To Kagome's shock, the hot wheels van grew to the size of a regular one, headed straight for Natasha. She dropped the barrier as they started to run, following Scott as fire started to spread through the yard.

X

Clint, Wanda, Bucky and Sam had now joined the trio in running down towards the quinjet. Kagome could see Shippou standing next to it, a grin on his face before it fell.

Vision was there, burning a line in the ground before them with the stone.

"Captain Rogers, I know what you believe what you're doing is right, but for the collective good, you must surrender now." He demanded.

By now, Natasha, Tony, Rhodey, T'Challa and what Kagome could only describe as a young boy dressed as a super-hero had arrived to confront them.

"What do we do, Cap?" Sam asked.

"We fight," He answered.

X

 **A/N: Bit of a shorter chapter this time, sorry for it being a bit late. Hope you enjoyed it, please review!**

 **((Also, I watched Ant Man & Wasp, I loved it! I thought Ava was really pretty aha))**


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